


It's a Mad World

by sadthespian



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/M, Hurt Spencer Reid, Kidnapped Spencer Reid, M/M, Physical Abuse, Rape, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sexual Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 11:06:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 12
Words: 32,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17724005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadthespian/pseuds/sadthespian
Summary: When J.J, Prentiss and Reid get lost on the backroads of the deserts of Montana following a case, they come across a small town with many secrets and are forced to face off against a psychotic family. Takes place some time during Season 6. For all intents and purposes,  J.J never left the team and Seaver never joined.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Note: Originally published on FanFiction.net beginning in 2011 under PeculiarMadmoiselle - my username there. Shorter chapters have been combined, some edits have been made - including newly revealed plot points. Highly influenced by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, House of 1,000 Corpses and other horror (true crime and fiction). 
> 
> Chapter 13 will go up soon! I started writing this 8 years ago (so you may notice an increase in the quality of writing since I began it as a freshman in college and I'm now a working published writer). 
> 
> I may be the George R.R. Martin of Criminal Minds FanFiction (sheerly based on the time is takes me to write, not comparing quality by any means), but I'm proud of how this work developed over the years and I believe the edits I made create a better story. My next venture will likely be a collection of one-shots and short fics focused on Reid. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

The sun was beating down on the dry Montana soil. The pavement on Route 94 seemed to be on fire in the ferocious heat. Most people with good sense were indoors depending on air conditioners or fans like life support. In the small nook of Custer County it seemed to be utterly deserted spare for a black SUV winding down the road. The BAU had just finished a case in one of the more populated towns. A week prior they received a case involving a child predator who was kidnapping young girls. It was a long strenuous case involving much anguish from grieving parents, confused locals and resistant police officers. The team simply just wanted to get home.

Prentiss was driving while J.J sat next to her in the passenger seat. Reid was in the back, his usual spot when it was the three of them. There was a lot of frustration at the moment. The GPS in this particular car was broken and they'd been trying to find there way back to Billings where the case was. The three had them had drove all the way out to Custer to check up with a possible witness, but then they received a phone call from Morgan. Rossi had dug something up and the unsub was apprehended. Now they just had to find there way back.

"Er, do you think it could've been that road back there?" Reid suggested sheepishly. He really didn't want to irritate his teammates anymore than they already were, but if there was any possibility he could figure out the way back he was going to make suggestions.

"No, it just leads back to the other road we were on before… I think," J.J responded as she tried to get service on her phone for the umpteenth time. With the "no service" image blaring on the screen she rubbed her temples in frustration. She was feeling quite nauseous from being in the car so long and felt anxious at the thought of being away from Henry longer than needed. With the way things were going they were likely to miss the jet back.

"No luck?" Emily asked with sympathy.

"Nope, until we find somewhere a bit more populated we're out of luck."

Reid leaned back and pressed his head against the window. The air conditioner was doing a decent job, but it was still uncomfortably dry. Gazing out of the window he was reminded of the flat, dry land of Las Vegas. He hadn't been back there since Christmas. Once again a familiar trickle of guilt came over him. Things had been even more confusing since the headaches started. It began with a light buzzing in his temples once in awhile, but then it escalated to intense migraines each day. His visit to the neurologist only made things worse. He suggested that they might be "psychosomatic". Reid's mind instantly darted towards schizophrenia. The thought of that mental illness pulsing through his brain made him nauseous. He could not and would not end up like his mother, a lost cause.

And there it was, right on schedule. A headache was starting. It was the worst possible time for this to come about, especially since he wasn't really planning on telling anyone about what was going on. Casually he took his sunglasses out of his messenger bag and put them on. It helped a bit, but there was still discomfort.

J.J glanced back at Reid for a moment. He was unusually quiet. She almost felt the desire to prompt him to start spewing statistics at them, but he looked as though he wanted to remain in his head. Her eyes then flashed towards the gas meter. They had about a quarter left before it was empty. That only gave them a few more miles to find a gas station or they would be completely screwed.

"I know," Prentiss said as she saw J.J examining it.

"There has to be a town somewhere," J.J responded as her anxiety heightened. The idea of walking in the heat was more than unpleasant, but downright dangerous. She didn't know how they had gotten themselves into this. If they could only find service they could find their way back. But the vast land of Montana was sparing them no mercy.

Suddenly a sign came into view. It said: Mama's Montana Cookery, Best Burgers and Biscuits around, Next Left. A few feet down another sign said "Welcome to Ismay, Montana".

"Aha, there's something," Prentiss said with relief.

As she said that Reid popped up out of his hypnotized state and looked out the windshield. Like them, he was relieved to see some signs of civilization.

"Someone there will probably be able to get us back on track," Reid added with a weak smile. He then heard his stomach rumble. It had been awhile since he had eaten anything. He imagined the rest of them would be hungry to. The advertisement made him even hungrier even though he knew it was probably bound to be a bit shady in these parts. He hoped they could get some food to go at least. But like everyone else he wanted to return to Virginia as soon as possible.

Out of nowhere a town came into view. It had a Main Street that seemed almost abandoned. A few of the stores looked as though no one had been in them in years. It was like a ghost town. However, Mama's was in full view and a sign flickered on the window saying open. At least there was someone around. Even so, they all felt uneasy.

Getting out of the SUV was like stepping into an oven. The heat was overwhelming. Reid knew this wasn't typical of Montana, despite its dry nature. They were definitely experiencing a heat wave.

"Jesus… this heat is ridiculous," Prentiss exclaimed as they headed for the door.

The first thing she noticed was that it was covered with a thick layer of dust. It didn't seem like anyone really cleaned up the place. Inside was even worse. There was a thick odor of rotting meat and stale air. Reid couldn't help but make a face as the scent greeted their nostrils. He no longer felt hungry.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" J.J called out after they waited at the counter for a bit.

Silence.

"Maybe there's no one here," Reid said. This place was giving him the creeps. He felt like he had stepped into some sort of horror film. Then again, that was part of their day to day job.

Prentiss then eyed a little bell on the counter. She supposed ringing it wouldn't do any harm.

"Hold on, I'm coming," a hoarse voice called out from the back.

A husky woman who looked around forty stepped out. She was wearing a frumpy blue dress with a dirty apron tied around her waist. It pressed into her skin creating a muffin top of compressed fat. Her hair was messily done up in a greasy bun. Many moles covered her chubby, coarse face along with red spots of acne scars. The agents were good enough at poker faces to hide their reactions. She wasn't exactly easy to look at.

"What do you want?" she asked rather abrasively. It looked as though she was thoroughly annoyed by their presence.

Prentiss automatically took the lead.

"We don't mean to disturb you, but we were wondering if you could help us find our way back to Billings. We're a little lost." Her tone was a calm one that she would often use when talking delicately to the families of victims. But at the moment she just didn't want to give the woman any reason to send them off.

"I haven't been out of this town in ten years so I'm afraid I can't help you." As she said this she tapped her chubby fingers on the counter.

"What about a phone?" Reid suggested with his hands in his pockets.

"Don't have one here. But if you're willing to drive down the road there's one at the house," the woman said eyeing them. Then her eyes set on Reid's gun in its holster. "Now what the hell is that for?"

"We're with the FBI," Reid blurted out. J.J and Prentiss both tensed up. They knew it was never a good idea to tell that sort of folk that they were with the government from past experience. Reid knew too, but sometimes things just slipped.

"FBI, huh? And you just happened to end up here?" she questioned with a hint of anger.

"We were working on a case in Billings, but it led us out here and now we're lost," J.J retorted calmly.

"Is that the guy who's killing those kids?" she asked.

"Yes, but the case is closed. We got him," Prentiss told her. She knew she didn't have anything to explain to her, but the more relaxed they were the more they could get. Right now the people in this town were all they had to depend on.

"The house is up a ways down Main Street and up the back road, you'll see it."

"Thank you very much," J.J said with a smile.

Prentiss and Reid also muttered a thank you and they left thankful to be out of there. All of them were utterly disturbed by the woman's behavior. It seemed as though she was hiding something. Then again, there was always something to hide in a small town. And this town was as small as you could get.

As soon as they were out of sight Abigail - a name replaced by Mama by all her family - retreated to the back of the store. She cursed those arrogant agents in her mind. They were the worst ones yet to trek through their town. Picking up the phone she had concealed she dialed home.

"Hey, we have three."

\---

"Well that was helpful," Reid said with a hint of sarcasm. He wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of heading to some stranger's house in the middle of nowhere to use a phone. The isolation of the entire town freaked him out to be perfectly honest. He couldn't help but think of that remote cemetery in Georgia where he had been held captive a few years prior.

"Don't worry, we'll call Hotch, tell him where we are and he'll have us directions in no time," J.J reassured him. She was a bit uneasy about the situation herself. After all she had seen over the years it was hard to trust people out in the world. But they needed a phone desperately and this seemed to be the only way.

"Try not to mention the whole Fed thing to anyone else, please," Prentiss said as they got in the car.

"Sorry, it just… slipped out." He knew that hadn't been the best move and in their situation there wasn't any room to cause people to turn them away. But to be honest it was hard to think clearly in the heat. Reid could feel a layer of sweat coating his back underneath his button down shirt. He never really felt comfortable wearing anything else so it had been the only option despite the temperature.

The car had heated up when they were inside. However, it felt even hotter due to the dark exterior. Prentiss turned it on along with the air and they waited a moment or two before getting in. J.J could feel her makeup melting on her face.

"Did you know 3,500 people died of heat stroke in Europe in 2003 when there was a heat wave?" Reid asked absent mindedly in the uncomfortable silence.

"Good to know," J.J said as she fanned herself with a folder.

The rest of the ride was taken in silence. Everyone was becoming a bit irritable regarding the situation at hand. Then they began to approach the back road that the woman mentioned. The area surrounded it was heavily covered in brush and the path itself was made of dirt, but the SUV could handle the terrain easily. As they got closer the house came into view. It was an old farm house with blue chipped paint and a wrap around porch. It was surprisingly large with three floors. It looked almost menacing sitting on the slope of the land. Fields surrounded it and fences could be seen in the distance. The front lawn had various pieces of scrap metal and such on it.

"This should be interesting," Prentiss said cynically. They already had a pretty good idea what the rest of this family would be like based on the woman back at the restaurant. The three of them were all having difficulty denying that she was the epitome of a stereotype. However, none of them were in the position to judge despite the fact that she acted like she wanted nothing to do with them.

"Should we all go you think?" Reid asked referring to going to ask about the phone.

"We should stay together," J.J stated strongly. Ever since the Tobias Hankel incident she was very weary about splitting up. Even though it had been years since then, the ghosts of that night would often enter her thoughts.

"Yeah, plus there's no use wasting anymore gas by having someone wait in the car," Prentiss added. She was well aware that the three of them might seem overwhelming to whomever was in the house, but they couldn't take any chances. 

Nodding in agreement they ventured out of the car back into the heat. The walk from the road to the house was a decent hike. And with the temperature rising, they were all tiring easily.

The trio then made there way up the steps of the porch. The old wood creaked eerily as their feet made contact. Reid had a feeling it might be ailing from termites. Looking through the cracks in the wood he jumped back in fright. There seemed to be an eye peering up at him.

"What? What is it?" Prentiss asked as her heart raced from shock. She had no idea what had gotten into him lately.

Reid peered down at the crack once again, but what he had seen vanished.

"N-nothing, I just thought I saw something," he said with a tinge of embarrassment. This was definitely not his day. He considered the idea that his mind was playing tricks on him. That was all he needed: delusions. And yet he could have sworn he saw something or someone gazing up through the crack.

"I think the heat's getting to you," J.J said lightly as she patted him on the shoulder. Like Prentiss she was beginning to grow worried for him again. She thought he had gotten through the rough patch after his abduction, but now she suspected new demons were lurking. Being that they were close she wished he would confide in her.

Prentiss rang the door bell resulting in a shrill beeping sound that echoed all throughout the entire house. They waited a few moments and still there was no answer. The woman had made it sound like someone was definitely home. Then the door opened. A girl in her twenties stood there. She had dark auburn hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her shirt exposed her belly button, which was pierced, and the daisy dukes she wore overly accentuated her shapely behind. Her face was covered with a heavy coating of makeup. None of them would be able to deny that she wasn't pretty.

"Well hello there," she said instantly eying Reid. There was a glimmer in her eyes that resembled a lioness setting her sights on prey. She was quite gifted at reading other's emotions so she caught onto his awkward nature quickly. Looking over Prentiss and J.J she was a bit more skeptical. They were the type of business-like women she deplored. She almost felt the desire to laugh at Prentiss' sharp appearance. J.J on the other hand had potential with her sweet face and blond hair.

"Hi… we were wondering if we could use your phone. A woman at the restaurant in town told us you had one," Prentiss asked cautiously. There was something about this girl that she didn't quite like. Maybe it was the way she was looking at Reid or maybe it was just her volatile demeanor, but there was something not right about her.

"Of course, of course! Come inside." With a grin she launched for Reid's hand and pulled him along inside. He looked back at his friends with a confused expression and a slight shrug. They couldn't help but chuckle a bit nervously. Her impulsive energy was a bit unnerving.

The house smelt like mildew as they entered through the door. The floors were wooden and a living room was visible. The furniture looked extremely old as if it had been in the family for a long time. They could also see a few portraits hanging up. The pictures seemed to date back to the early 1900's. Everything in the room seemed dusty however. Obviously they didn't keep up with their house cleaning.

"Now I never bring guests inside without offering them a drink first," the girl said with a smile, "I'm Angie by the way." With that she winked in Reid's direction. His two companions couldn't help but smirk. They had never seen a woman throw herself at Reid like this. Neither of them thought he was unattractive, but he just wasn't the type to have women all over him.

"That's very nice of you, but we really need to use a phone," Prentiss began gently. She didn't want to offend her, but they weren't here for any other purpose.

"Oh you need to use a phone?" Angie said in a daze, "Ours hasn't worked in ages. No one really has a need for it," she continued with a light giggle.

Prentiss and J.J exchanged confused glances. She had blatantly acted like they could use their phone and now they didn't have one that was working. Something was strange.

"Uh, the woman back at the restaurant said you had one though," Reid tried nervously. Angie kept smiling at him. He wasn't used to this much attention.

"Who, Mama? She don't know anything," she laughed.

"Is there anyone around who does have one?" Prentiss asked. She felt herself beginning to get agitated. It would be dark soon and the last thing any of them wanted was to be stuck in the middle of nowhere at night.

"Well my brother has a cell phone that gets a signal sometimes," Angie confessed.

Instantly they all pulled out their phones. Still, there was no signal. Was this family that cut off that they didn't have any means of communication?

"You can stay for dinner; He should be back by then."

The three excused themselves for a moment onto the front porch. It wasn't the most appealing option, but they supposed they had no other choice. There obviously wasn't a gas station in the immediate town from what they had seen and they wouldn't make it anywhere else. If they were nice enough these people might give them some gas.

The late afternoon carried on into night and Angie occupied her guests. She brought them lemonade and told them about all the pageants she used to do when she was younger. They tried their best to appear interested, but the only thing that was on Prentiss' and J.J's minds was getting the hell out of there. Reid on the other hand thought she was kind of amusing and sweet. She hung onto his every word no matter what was said.

Around six o'clock the woman from the restaurant came through the door. She had a tray of something in her hands that they assumed was dinner. The thought of food coming out of that filthy restaurant wasn't very appealing.

"Oh, they're still here?" she asked Angie as she put the tray on the kitchen table.

"Yep, they're staying for dinner," Angie responded with a smile. "This is Spencer… he's a doctor you know." With that she giggled again. She seemed to do that a lot when it came to Reid.

Prentiss had to fight off the desire to roll her eyes. This had been going on all afternoon. Hopefully the brother she mentioned would be home soon and they could get out of there.

"Did they tell you they're also FBI?" Mama replied skeptically.

"No, really?" Angie seemed even more interested at this idea. She wasn't even upset they had failed to tell her this little piece of information.

"And what is it that you do exactly?" the older woman hollered as she put plates out on the dining room table. All the rooms of the house seemed equally dirty. The smell of rotting meat from the restaurant was also present here.

"We work for the Behavioral Analysis Unit. Basically we study the behavior of serial killers," Reid stated quite bluntly.

"Serial killers? Jeez, that sounds dangerous," Angie exclaimed. Prentiss was waiting for her to hang onto Reid at any second.

"A bit," J.J responded. She was also growing tired of being there. Henry was constantly on her mind. The thought of Hotch calling Will about their disappearance made her anxious. She wondered what everyone else must be thinking. They had to get back soon.

By the time the dinner was prepared and they were all sitting down at the table a noise emerged from upstairs.

"That'll be Daddy," Angie said, "He's been trying to fix that toilet upstairs all day."

The three of them hadn't even realized someone else was there. They had heard noises, but they assumed it was just the old nature of the house. And then a man stumbled in. He was wearing a dirty flannel shirt, a worn pair of jeans and his face was covered in thick stubble. There was a snarl on his face that none of them liked the looks of.

"Who the fuck are they?" he asked eying them.

"Daddy! They're our gueeeests," Angie whined, "Don't be rude!"

"Where's dinner?" he asked.

"Right here, right here," Mama said as she brought out the tray once more. It looked as though it was some sort of chicken. The agents would've eaten anything at that point so they didn't mind as long as it wasn't diseased.

"When did you say your brother might be home?" J.J asked with a weak smile.

"Any minute now," Mama responded.

Reid felt his head begin to throb once more. He even started to feel a bit dizzy and nauseous. As much as he wanted to eat, he couldn't, Maybe he just needed to use the bathroom.

"Can I use your bathroom?" he asked.

"Sure, I'll show you where it is," Angie said as she got up excitedly. J.J and Prentiss exchanged looks at this. What an odd girl.

He was led to a small powder room. The walls were covered with wilting floral wall paper and the tiled floor was saturated with filth. This wasn't exactly helping his stomach. For a moment he almost lost his balance and grabbed onto the sink. What was going on with him? Reid figured he might as well go back since nothing was really helping him. As he walked the hall seemed to be spinning before his eyes. Something was really not right. Entering the dining room again he was greeted with a strange sight. Prentiss and J.J seemed to be lying their heads down on the table. Gazing up at everyone he saw they were continuing supper like nothing had happened. Before he could say anything he collapsed in the door way.


	2. Chapter 2

Why was everything so dark? Reid could not comprehend it. One moment he had been walking back from the bathroom and then everything disappeared. He tried to search his mind for any morsel that might remind him what had happened. Flashes of J.J and Emily face down on the table suddenly flew through his brain. He couldn't move his arms. They seemed to be restrained by something above his head. What the hell was going on? He could barely muster the strength to open his eyes or move his body. Everything felt so heavy. He could hear something though. It was somebody humming a cheerful little tune. The melody sounded familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. And then he felt hands on him. He squirmed around uncontrollably. Someone was tickling him. A girlish giggle followed. And still he could not open his eyes. He also felt quite sick. His stomach turned within him and his throat was dry with nausea. For what seemed like hours he struggled to force his eyelids off his hazel colored eyes. Finally, he succeeded.

The walls of the room were covered with pink floral wallpaper. Like the rest of the house it seemed to be decaying. Trying to peer around him, he caught sight of a bureau covered with what seemed to be stuffed animals and other childish knick knacks. Looking upwards he saw his hands were tied to a pink head board. Then looking down he noticed his gun was no longer in its usual holster. He breathed in the scent of a heavy perfume that did not help his nausea at all. And then he saw her staring down at him: Angie. Instantly his stomach dropped with dread and regret. How could he have been so blind?

"A-Angie?" he asked in a hoarse voice, "What are you doing?"

"Playing…" she said devilishly as he squirmed. Reid was very sensitive to touch. Usually he didn't even let his friends get to that point, but now this stranger who seemed to have drugged him was all over him.

Angie was wearing a peculiar outfit. It seemed to be a Marilyn Monroe costume of sorts. Her hair had been curled and she wore tons of makeup. Reid didn't like the looks of this. Was she dressed this way for him? The thought made him cringe. So did the sight of her licking her blood red lips.

"Angie please, where are my friends?" Reid pleaded. He should've known there was something odd about the way the girl acted towards him. No one would've been that interested in him otherwise. Angered adrenaline rushed through him as he thought about all the signs he overlooked.

"They're… around." Then she let out another one of her piercing giggles. From what Reid had seen of her family he could only imagine what was happening to them. Pulling at his restraints he felt his anger growing by the seconds. Whatever happened to them would be his fault. He had insisted on going into the house. He had assured them it was safe. And now they were wrapped in a spider's web.

"I'll give you whatever you want, but just please let them go," he said as he pleaded once more.

"Whatever I want, huh?" she asked, "Sounds too good to be true."

"Please, just promise me nothing will happen to them."

She let out a giggle once more.

"What are you laughing at?" he screamed with exasperation.

"You might be too late," Angie said with sheer delight as she let out a haunting laugh.

His eyes began to uncontrollably well with tears. Was she implying that they were already gone? No, he had to stay strong.

"Listen, you don't want to do this. People will be looking for us and your family will have to face consequences if anything happens to us," he explained calmly.

"Will you shut up?" she whined with annoyance as she went to the dresser to retrieve something.

She took out a bottle of pills and a taser gun. Reid's eyes widened with fear. He had no clue what she was planning on doing. He squinted to try to make out what was on the bottle, but he could barely see. As she got closer to the bed he saw the words: Viagra. The young man started to panic. So that's what she wanted. He was about to be… raped. By a woman for that matter.

"Open your mouth," she demanded in a low commanding voice. "Just a little something to make you more… comfortable.

"No…" he retorted hesitantly. He wasn't going to give in without a fight.

"I said open your fucking mouth," Angie said almost screaming.

When he didn't she immediately pointed the taser towards his lower private regions and fired. Reid's body filled with immense pain and electric shock. He couldn't help but let out a small scream in which Angie laughed at. She was a pure sadist. There was no remorse in her eyes. Why hadn't he been able to see this before? He was a profiler after all. But he was a profiler fooled by the beauty of a young woman.

Once she was satisfied she climbed on the bed and wrenched his mouth open shoving a pill into the back of his throat.

"Swallow or I'll do it again…" she said with pure malice, "And your friends will pay."

Reid had no other choice. She had brought J.J and Emily into this and he couldn't do anything that would jeopardize their safety any further. Closing his eyes he swallowed. He could only imagine what hell awaited him.

\---

Emily Prentiss began to awake from the fog that consumed her for what seemed like an eternity. She couldn't move her arms and she felt a hard, wooden chair beneath her body. The FBI agent was stripped down to her undergarments and her gun was nowhere in sight. She realized she could only breathe through her nose due to a strip of duct tape covering her mouth. Finally, she opened her eyes. She was in a small room with dusty wooden floors. Worn curtains hung from the night filled windows. The man previously introduced to her as Angie's father stood before her with a vicious glare. Sweat pouring down his forehead, his foul stench radiated from his body. Looking down, she saw her arms were tied down by leather restraints.

SLAP.

She didn't even see it coming. Before she could even regain thought he slapped the other side of her face. Thrusting himself forward, he grabbed her dark hair and erratically began sucking on her neck. Emily squirmed, eyes widened, at this sudden attack. She could feel his tongue on her skin and saliva dripping down her neck.

"Ger 'ff e," she screamed through the duct tape. But he only kissed her harder as his filthy hands grasped her hair. No matter how hard she tried, there was no getting him off of her with the restraints.

A chill ran through her spine as she realized his hand was going beneath her bra. He massaged her breast like some sort of primitive being. She felt so violated. Emily only wished her friends were in a better situation than she was.

After he grew tired of her breasts, he delved lower. With a smile of missing teeth, he moved his hand towards her panties. Grasping them, he ripped the fabric with a malicious pull. Now she was almost completely exposed.

Emily tried to find some spot in her mind to hide from this situation. But every door she approached seemed to be locked. There was no hiding from what was about to happen to her. But she knew she had to deal with it. She had to deal with it and survive. She was going to get herself and her friends out of there no matter what happened.

Backing away from her for a moment, the man began to unbuckle his pants. With a pull of his zipper he was exposed to her. The old man was fully erect, obviously getting off on her struggle and the previous forced intimacy.

"Ger awy," she tried to scream. Although she knew he was going to do whatever he liked, she couldn't just let him take her without saying something.

Closing her eyes she tried once more to find something else to think about. She thought of her girls-nights-out with Garcia and J.J that they shared as often as possible. She thought of Morgan's playful sense of humor and the long talks they shared. She thought of some place safe that was not here. But it was not enough… the foul man was inside her.

\---

It was six o'clock at night by the time the rest of the BAU team finished up the case they were in Montana for. When Morgan, Hotch and Rossi returned to the police station they expected to see the rest of the team waiting. Cell phone service was scarce where they were so they hadn't been able to get in contact with the other three agents. When it was obvious that they were not at the station, they called Garcia.

"Hey sweet cheeks, is my lovely team coming back to me?" Garcia asked cheerfully as she answered the call from Morgan.

"We're trying Baby girl, but Reid, Prentiss and J.J aren't here at the station. Have you heard from them?" Morgan asked trying to mask his concern. They all knew that they all should have been back. Deep in his gut, Morgan knew something wasn't right. However, he didn't want Garcia to worry in case he was wrong.

"I have not. But I will track their phones for you right now," she said.

"You're the best," Morgan responded.

Hotch and Rossi were in the other room sorting out some last minute paperwork regarding the case. Neither of them seemed exceptionally worried that something out of the ordinary was going on. Morgan kept hoping he was wrong.

"Well that's weird…" Garcia started as she got the results of the tracking.

"What?" he asked as his heart skipped for a moment.

"All three of their phones are untraceable, which means the batteries are out or the phones are broken," the tech analyst said as worry began to creep up her spine. "Morgan, what's going on?"

"I have no idea…" he said already lost in his own thoughts. He couldn't imagine what could have happened to put them in a situation where all of their phones were incapacitated.

\---

_This isn't happening. This isn't happening. This isn't happening._

J.J kept repeating this mantra in her mind as she lay in darkness. A stale odor greeted her nostrils. It smelled of dust and filth. She wasn't wearing the clothes she arrived here in. Instead she was in some sort of dress that she couldn't see in the current absence of light. Surprisingly enough she wasn't bound in any way like she expected. However, she knew that it wasn't very likely she would be able to overpower someone coming in and her gun was missing.

Part of her wanted to scream and another wanted to cry. She couldn't believe this was happening. All she wanted to do was hold her baby boy and never let go. But Henry was far away, back in Viriginia, and she was here. There was hardly any optimism in her thoughts. They had all been through so much and they got lucky in the past, but how long could that really last?

The sound of footsteps below stopped her in her thoughts. If all the sounds were below than she had to be on one of the upper floors. Then she heard a lock being opened and saw a light from the outside stairwell illuminate the doorway. J.J winced at the sudden emergence of light. Looking down at herself she now saw that she was wearing what looked like a dress meant for a young girl. She found this strange and sickening, her fear instantly heightened. The entire room was decorated as if it was meant for a young child. From the way the room was shaped it seemed as though she was in the attic. Looking up, the slanted ceiling confirmed it.

A figure in the door flicked a switch and the entire room filled with light, giving J.J a clear view of the room and the person standing there. He wasn't one of the members of the family that had been at dinner with them. The man was very tall and broad. He was dressed in a flannel plaid shirt and a dirty pair of jeans. His face remained stoic as he walked in with a glass of water in hand.

"Hello," J.J said looking him in the eyes. From all her knowledge of serial killers, she knew that it was harder for them to commit these acts if a personal connection with the victim was established. She needed to humanize herself.

He said nothing as he walked towards her and placed the cup of water on a bed side table. It was as if he was trying to block her out entirely. There seemed to be something very tragic about this man.

"I'm Jennifer," she told him with feigned eagerness, "What's your name?"

The man walked back out of the room without responding, switched off the light and closed the door. J.J was left in the darkness once again.

\---

"Angie… please," Reid said as he lay tied on her bed as she got up to put on some mood music. It was an 1940 rendition of "Sweet Embraceable You".

"Angie, please!" she mimicked as she quivered her lips in mockery of her prey.

He was beginning to formulate a profile in his mind, his strongest defense in the current situation. She obviously gets off on dominating. Reid supposed that she might hold back if he just gave her what she wanted: control.

"Are you some kind of fag or something?" she asked with a hint of malice in her voice.

"No… I think you're very beautiful," he said trying to sound as sincere as possible. The drug was beginning to affect him and he knew Angie had every intention of raping him. He was familiar with the studies on female rapists and even though he knew logically that it happened to many men, he already felt ashamed.

"Oh yeah? So why wouldn't you want to be fucked by me?" Angie responded.

"I do… just not like this."

"You're fucking pathetic, you know that?" she said with a dry laugh. "And I'm getting bored… maybe I'll just cut it off while it's out for some fun."

Reid cringed internally. This wasn't going to way he hoped. He could sense his hands beginning to shake out of oncoming fear. He knew this girl was simply psychotic and capable of pretty much anything.

"I think you are a fag," she started in her sugary coated voice that contained a high level of insanity. "And we don't tolerate that kind of behavior here."

"Angie, I'm not. I like girls… I think you're really beautiful."

Ignoring him, Angie went over to her dresser and started rummaging through the top drawer. Reid pulled at his restraints as quietly as possible. He knew something awful was about to happen and he needed to try and get out while he still could.

"Aha!" she exclaimed with a huge grin as she found what she was looking for.

Turning around to face him she held a box cutter. As she extracted the blade before him he could see that it was caked in blood. Reid squirmed as she strolled towards him smiling as brightly as ever before. The fact that they were not the family's first victims made him feel even sicker. They must have killed before and they had gotten away with it. Who was to say that they wouldn't get away with killing the three agents as well?

Angie climbed on top of the bed and straddled him. She undid his tie and threw it on the floor and then began to cut away at his shirt with the box cutter.

"You're really cute… it's such a shame," she said in a distant voice.

Then she began to cut. Reid let out a scream as she dug into the flesh of his chest. She was carving something. He had been shot and beaten among other things in his career, but he had never felt pain like this. He cuts were slow and deliberate. Each time he cried out she let out a giggle of pleasure. It lasted for what seemed like hours before she pulled away from her work.

The word FAG was carved into his chest in large, bloody letters.


	3. Chapter 3

Reid could feel the blood dripping down his chest. His wounds burned, exposed to the air. Looking down he could see what she had carved. People called him a fag all throughout high school, one of the many insults he endured over those years. Now it was engraved in him permanently by this mad woman. He could only hope that she would take a break from this abuse and give him time to regain his thoughts. Despite the pain he was in he couldn't help but think of his friends who were also trapped in this hell.

"Now isn't that beautiful!" she exclaimed with girlish delight.

Giving him a sly smile she bent forward and began to sensually lick the blood off of his wounds. This only made it burn more. Reid cringed as her tongue glided over his bare, butchered chest. He felt the urge to thrust her off of him, but he knew that she would only lash out and hurt him more. Once again he tried to play around with the prickly rope that bound his hands to the bedpost to no avail.

"You didn't cry as much as I thought you would," she practically giggled. "I'll help you out, as a reward." With a euphoric grin she undid his pants and pulled them and his boxers down to reveal the side effects of the pills she gave him. "It looks so innocent," she laughed, before redressing him beneath the waist. His shirt remain open.

"Maybe we'll save you for something else." Reid didn't want to know what she meant by this, but he was dying for some release.

"I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted. And I wouldn't want to waste you in one night… I'll arrange your transportation," she said before she left the room.

Alone for the first time, Reid struggled harder than ever with his bindings. His wrists were raw at this point, but even so he tried to pull them through. The ropes were just too tight.

_He's in here Daddy_ , Reid could hear Angie say in the hallway as she approached.

Reid stopped his efforts when they walked in. Her father was looking at him with mocking eyes. Just like his daughter he got a thrill out of his pain and vulnerability.

"I just fucked your friend," he started with a chilling grin, "But I guess you don't have any interest in women, do yah?" he laughed, noting the words carved into Reid's chest.

Reid's heart dropped into his stomach. He didn't know whether he was talking about Emily or J.J, but it didn't matter. He could handle being hurt, but what he couldn't handle was seeing those he loved get hurt. The guilt quickly overtook him. He felt like it was his fault for insisting that they go in the house. If he hadn't, they might have been able to get to someplace else with a phone before their car stopped running completely. But he told them it would be fine. And it wasn't.

"Daddy, get him out of my room," Angie whined as she crossed her arms around her chest impatiently.

"Sure pumpkin, just get me some cuffs," he said.

Angie rummaged through the same drawer she got the box cutter from and took out a pair of metallic handcuffs. They looked quite worn out, as if they had been used many times before. This only reasserted the idea that this family might be far more sinister than he imagined.

"Put up a struggle and I'll pay your friend another visit tonight," Angie's father told him as he began to cut away at the ropes with a pocket knife.

Reid knew he didn't really have a chance of getting away in his current position. And even if he could, he had no idea where Emily and J.J were. The agent cooperated as the man placed his hands in the cuffs. All of a sudden, he hoisted Reid over his shoulder. It was an awkward and slightly alarming position to be in. Remembering the man's words, however, he continued to cooperate.

"Goodnight," Angie said with a grin and a wave goodbye. Reid had never felt such hatred for a human being in all his life. He could sympathize with those who grew up in a family of killers. Naturally it would poison a person's mind. But Angie loved every minute of it without a conscience. It made him sick.

Her father made his way down the stairs with Reid hoisted over his back. The agent knew that he had to take this opportunity to memorize the layout of the house for future escape mechanisms. He noted that the stairs was in the center of the entrance hall of the house with the living room to the left and a dining room connecting to the kitchen to the right. He was being brought through the main hall towards the backdoor. Then the man stopped at a door that led to the basement. Opening a simple lock, he opened the door and brought Reid down the stairs. He couldn't help but notice scratch marks on the walls that looked as though they were made by previous victims.

The basement was illuminated by a dim lighting fixture in the center. It was a huge area leading to different rooms. Reid was brought towards the back in an isolated area. The man carried him through a musty passage way to another large area that was blocked off by a metal gate. It was here that he roughly placed the agent down on the floor.

"Get up," the man said as he pulled out a gun from his belt that Reid neglected to see and pointed it at the agent.

Unsteadily, he got himself to stand.

"Don't you dare move an inch or I swear to god I'll pull this trigger."

From there he pulled a key out of his back pocket and unlocked the gate with the gun still pointed at Reid. The agent stood perfectly still watching his captor. Pushing the gate open, he grabbed Reid roughly by the arm and shoved him into the room. That was when the panic set in. The walls were covered with a vast array of torture devices. Most of them were already coated in dried blood. An ancient medical examiner's table was situated in the middle of the room. That too had the brownish traces of spilled blood of the past. And on the left side of a room was a wide cell. Emily was sitting attentively on the floor watching their every move. There was a chain fastened around her neck. Her eyes widened she saw Reid being led in.

"Come on," the man said as he pulled him towards the cell.

But Reid could not move. It felt as though his legs were glued to the floor. He was frozen in fear. How could this be happening? This wasn't supposed to happen… they caught killers, they weren't their victims.

"What the  _fuck_  do yah think you're doing?" he yelled viciously.

When Reid kept up the struggle he punched him straight in the stomach. The agent collapsed as the air was knocked out of his lungs. He could hear Emily shouting. Next came a kick to his face which sent him flying backwards. The man fiddled with another lock on the cell as Reid lay on the floor trying to maintain consciousness. Still outraged by Reid's spurt of defiance, he grabbed him by the throat and threw him inside the cell where he collided with the cement wall. He could feel cold metal being forced around his neck. Then there was nothing.

\---

**J.J**

It had been hours since the man brought her that glass of water. Right after, she heard Reid's screams coming from downstairs. Powerless to do anything, she tried to block it out and think of a way out of this. The windows, she discovered before, were nailed shut and she didn't have any means of undoing them. She needed to get her captors to bring her downstairs somehow. Anything would be better than sitting here listening to her friend's cry out in anguish while she was fine.

After a while it stopped. She wondered if he was alright. Well, of course he wouldn't be alright, but she prayed they didn't hurt him as badly as her imagination fabricated. It seemed like Reid was just starting to fully recover from everything that happened to him, but now there was yet another trauma to deal with.

She looked up attentively as the stairs started to creak. The door opened slowly and the man from before peered into the room. Seeing him again, she noticed how sad his eyes were. It almost seemed like he didn't want to be part of this. J.J knew she needed to connect with him more than ever. Maybe he didn't want to be here anymore than they did. Maybe he would help them.

The man slipped into the room and stayed at a distance. He was looking at her like he wanted to say something. She tried to make eye contact with him, but he looked away. J.J wasn't sure whether to speak or not. The last time she tried he just ignored her. In their current condition, it anything was worth a shot.

"Hi…" she started, not really knowing what to say. However, she tried to sound as warm as possible.

"Hi," he said nervously, tipping back and forth on his toes like a child.

"You never told me your name," the agent said with a weak smile.

"Luke," the man said looking down at the floor, avoiding her eyes once again.

"Hi Luke, I'm Jennifer," she said, smiling again. Somehow she knew that he wasn't like the rest of his family. Her odds of connecting with him looked better and better.

"Luke, do you know why I'm here?" J.J asked.

"'Cause Pa said I could keep you…" he stated with a hint of a smile of his face.

She felt her heart skip a beat. What could that possibly mean?  _Keep_ her? Was she supposed to be some sort of pet for this guy? J.J could feel the panic setting in, but she tried her best to fight it back. She had to keep calm.

"Luke… I want to be your friend, but I have a baby boy at home who needs me."

Saying those words made her feel even more dread. Just the thought of Henry and Will going through life not knowing what had become of her was unthinkable.

"I'm sorry, but they won't let you go… it's better this way," Luke said with a tone of melancholy.

"Why- why are they doing this?" The dread was slowly evolving into anger.

"They just do… it's how it's always been," Luke responded, not effected at all by her change of tone. "I have to go to bed now, but I'll be back in the morning."

"Wait!" she said as he began to turn away. "Are my friends okay?"

A flash of guilt appeared on his face. J.J could feel a lump rising in her throat. They had to be alive… they had to.

"They won't be."

 

\---

The sight of her rapist leading Reid into the cage was both horrifying and relieving. He looked as though he was in pretty bad shape, but he was alive. She spent the past hour down in the depths of the dungeon restlessly asserting herself that her friends were going to be alright. Reid was far from alright, however. His shirt was torn open, hanging loosely on his thin frame, exposing his bloody chest. It took her a moment to look past the carnage, but she began to make out the letters: FAG. A surge of anger ran through her.

Reid looked completely in shock by her current state in the cage. She supposed it did look pretty awful. Their unnamed patriarchal captor imprisoned her directly after violating her. Holding her by her hair, he forced her onto the ground and fastened a metal collar around her neck that was attached to a chain in the cement wall. There was another one of the collars on the other side of the cage suggesting the structure was meant for two. She guessed he was about to force Reid into the same position.

Her friend, however, seemed to be frozen in a state of panic. Her heart dropped as she knew this would prompt and excuse for an attack. Part of her just wanted to scream at him to snap out of it and just do what the redneck wants. And then he started to beat him. She couldn't help but scream for him to stop even though it would do no good. After a few blows he was thrown into the cage and chained up. It looked as though he lost consciousness. Adding insult to injury, their captor spit directly on his face.

"I thought you were supposed to be feds," he said with a chuckle. And then he left them.

Emily clenched her fists with rage and anguish. She studied these people for most of her life and yet in the seat of a victim it is so easy to wonder why this is happening. Could they have avoided this? It just seemed like the odds were never in their favor. She wished to god that Reid wasn't with them. Even if they managed to get out of this she could not imagine the aftermath on his psyche. Tobias was bad, but this… this was a different level.

She crawled over to him as far as the chain would let her, ripping a piece of her shirt off to wipe his face. Repulsed by the saliva of the man that assaulted her she tossed it towards the bars.

Prompted by her touch, Reid began to stir. Although their only light source was a hanging light bulb on the other side of the bars, he winced as he opened his eyes.

"Hey," she said with a weak smile.

"Emily…" he started before fully coming to terms with their surroundings. His hands jumped to the metal collar around his neck. She didn't know what to say. They both knew this was a horrible situation. They were also both mentally and physically fatigued which left little energy to conjure some sort of plan.

"I'm so sorry," he said in a dazed voice. It was evident he was blaming himself which she expected due to the way his mind worked.

"Reid, don't do that to yourself. None of this is your fault," she asserted as she grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. He looked away with an expression of shame.

"Reid, please. We need to focus and try to get out of here alive. Blaming yourself isn't going to help," Emily stated a little more firmly than intended.

Surprisingly enough that seemed to put him in a better mindset. With his traditional expression of deep thinking he looked around the room to analyze their surroundings. The room that held the cage they were in had only one doorway in or out. Past that there were winding hallways of other space which led to the stairwell. Any escape would be extremely difficult.

"We have to overpower them," he said bluntly. "If it's just the parents and Angie I think we can do it, but she said there's a brother."

"I can only imagine what breed of redneck he is…" she remarked with a hollow laugh.

"And J.J… we have to get to her. I haven't seen her since we were knocked out, have you?" Reid asked with intense worry for their friend.

Emily knew that she was alive. They wouldn't kill someone as pretty as her right away. She just hoped she wouldn't have to endure what happened earlier.

"No, I have no idea where they're keeping her. I was with that backwoods asshole the whole time."

Reid's eyes grew larger with that statement. He knew. She could tell he wanted to say something, some words of comfort, but they didn't come. Instead he pulled her into a long embrace.

"You need sleep," she said after they parted. "It looks like you've lost a decent amount of blood. I'll watch over you."

Despite the gentlemen he was, Reid didn't argue. He lay down on the cold ground and tried to find some solace in a place that was far from here.

\---

Hotch, Morgan and Rossi stood around their makeshift Montana conference room in a tense silence. It had been hours since they last heard from the rest of their teammates and they remained untraceable. They contacted authorities in the town the threesome were headed for to check with the people they were supposed to interview, but there was no sign of their teammates.

"We need to go out there and find them," Morgan asserted.

"There are miles of terrain out there and we have no idea where they could be or what happened to them," Rossi noted. "It's going to be difficult."

"Well we know something must have happened to result in all of their phones and the GPS to break down… but what?" Hotch added. He was filled with frustration and worry. This was nothing like his team. It was a standard interview and now they were nowhere to be found. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something terribly wrong going on.

"I'm no Reid with a map," Morgan said pulling one of the area off the wall, "But I say we divide up the area between the three of us and take some men with us. It's better than sitting around here waiting."

"I agree. Alert the station that we need backup for this," Hotch commanded as Morgan took off with a nod.

"We'll find them, Hotch. They can take care of themselves," Rossi said with a supportive pat on his shoulder.

\---

J.J lay on the bed staring at the boarded up window as light began to pour through the cracks. It was sunrise. She was so filled with anxiety about Reid and Prentiss she wasn't able to sleep at all. She hadn't seen anyone since Luke came into the room last night with the tray of food. She figured it was only a matter of time before he returned.

All she wanted was some sign that her friends were alive. That would keep her going. She could take a beating or something worse, but this seclusion was defeating her.

Another hour passed before she heard the familiar creak of the stairwell. From the sound of the steps it wasn't Luke. He had a much heavier sound. It was Angie.

She had a smirk on her face as she looked at the full grown woman in the silly ruffled dress.

"Good morning," Angie exclaimed in an irritatingly chipper tone.

J.J wasn't sure how to react. This girl was one of her captors and she most likely spent part of the night hurting her friends. She didn't want to have any reaction.

Before she knew it Angie gave her a strong slap across the face she did not expect.

"When I say something to you, you respond," she commanded in a sickeningly sweet tone.

J.J had the urge to hit this brat right back, but she knew that her family could easily defend her with worse punishments. She nodded at Angie's words.

"Okay, now that that's settled, I'm here to make you look acceptable for breakfast. Mama and Pa always expect us to look our best… especially you since you're not that pretty to begin with."

She was rather baffled by the way she was going about this. It seemed like she had the mind of a child, but the sadism of Ted Bundy. But she didn't care what this monster thought of her. She just needed to follow her directions well enough to get downstairs and possibly plan a way out.

For the next ten minutes Angie went around humming familiar children's song melodies as she coated J.J in makeup that gave her the appearance of a china doll. J.J didn't understand why it mattered how she looked if they were eventually going to brutalize her, but she stopped being surprised by the action of people like these a long time ago.

As Angie began to pack the makeup back in their respective cases she dropped a brush which rolled under the bed. With a sigh she bent down to retrieve it. J.J knew this was her chance. With adrenaline pumping through her veins she bounded out the attic door with her heart beating a mile a minute.


	4. Chapter 4

The stairs creaked more than ever as she ran down them knowing Angie would be on her tail at any moment. Part of her wished she thought this through a little more. What was she going to do? Could she really reach help in time before they decided to off her friends?

She wouldn't get the chance, however. As she turned the corner she ran right into Angie's father who looked more than surprised to see her out of her attic prison.

"What are you doing?" he asked with a hint of playfulness as he grabbed her.

J.J noticed the strange look in his eyes. It was like he was mentally undressing her. She didn't know what to say. Angie would be down any minute to counter any excuse she could think of.

His hand started to graze her breast and moved upwards to her cheek. She cringed at his touch. With a rush of impulsiveness she drew back and punched him in the nose. As he yelled out and cowered in pain she took off yet again with no distinct plan. There might be some chance of finding a car on the road and getting to a phone to call for help.

Flying through the open screen door she bounded down the steps of the decrepit farm house. She was filled with pure adrenaline as she made her way down the steep hill. The air was tepid and filled with a strong scent of manure and decay. Their SUV was nowhere in sight, but that wasn't her destination. The road was about a half mile away. She could see it up ahead, but there weren't any cars. It would be a long run to find someone if there was even anyone out there.

A sudden hit came out of nowhere. She was fully tackled to the ground and rolled down the hill a bit with her attacker on top of her. The strength of the person was incredible and frightening. It was Luke. J.J was completely taken back. She thought she saw some hope in him, some goodness, but here he was retrieving her.

"Luke, please…" she started as he pulled her up forcefully. "You could come with me."

He looked at her blankly for a moment before disregarding her words and hoisting her over his shoulder. She tried to writhe out of his grip, but he was far too strong. Dread filled her as she knew the repercussions would be severe.

After the long way up the hill they were back in front of the house. Her body ached terribly from the tackle and beads of sweat poured down her dirt stricken face. At least some of that terrible make up was coming off. It seemed to be suffocating her pores earlier.

Luke put her down when he reached the kitchen where his father instantly grabbed her and threw her to the ground.

"You little cunt," the older man grunted as he kicked her in the face. J.J felt her sight flicker and tried to remain conscious. Her inner survival instincts motivated her to try to stand and fight, but she couldn't find her footing. She just wobbled over and fell to the dirt coated wood floor. Angie stood nearby with her arms crossed over her chest. It was obvious she was enjoying this display of violent retribution.

Looking up she could see the kitchen counter a few feet away. Various cooking utensils lay about including a large butcher knife. If she could only reach it she might be able to take out the older man and deal with the rest of them.

Before she got the chance he yanked her up on her feet and pushed her towards the back door and onto a small wooden deck, landing on her knees. She had yet to see what horrors lay further on their property. In the distance she could see what looked like a hundred cars. Some were rusty with age while others were new but stained with dust.

Repulsion rushed through her. How many people had they taken before them? The sight sickened her as she thought of the countless people they must have lured into their domain. In one of the cars a child's car seat was visible. A wave of nausea hit her as she thought of Henry. The only consolation was that he was safe at home with Will and hundreds of miles away from this place.

Another blow came from behind and she tumbled down the deck onto the dirt lawn. Her body was sore with fatigue, lacking any of her former adrenaline after the failed escape. Nevertheless she made a feeble attempt to crawl away towards the cars. The hard stomp of a boot on her back stopped her. She could hear the crunch of bone and knew that her ribs were broken.

The man's eyes were filled with a primitive glow. He kicked dirt towards her making it even harder to breath. Although she could not see, Angie entered with an object: a whip. The first blow slashed along her back with a sharp crack. The pain was instant. It was like being licked with a blaze of fire. The next sliced her bare calves, drawing blood.

J.J gritted her teeth and tried not to cry out. She had to show them she could take it. They wouldn't see her weaken. The whipping continued until she felt almost numb with the overwhelming pain. She was close to losing consciousness.

Angie stood watching a let out gleeful giggles with a wide grin on her face. Sweating from the heat and the physical exertion, her Pa dropped the whip and let out a deep breath.

"This bitch is out," he chuckled with an equally amused grin. He gave one last kick of dirt in her face and hoisted her over his shoulders. He had to pace himself and prepare for the rest of fun that awaited the day.

\---

As Reid opened his eyes he hoped to see his bedroom back home filled with books and Dr. Who posters. However, a harsh reality greeted him with the sight of the cage and their dungeon. He itched his neck which was chafed after a night of sleeping uncomfortably with it gnawing at his skin. The carvings on his chest felt better than yesterday, giving him hope that wouldn't get infected. Even so, his body ached and he was thirsty.

He looked over at Emily who must have nodded off somewhere during the night. Even in her sleep she looked defiant and strong. She was their chance to get out. After his monumental mistake that got them in this mess in the first place, he felt like dead weight.

Reid wasn't sure what time it was. There was no glimmer of the outside world in the hole they were in. All he knew was that he needed water. He hadn't drank anything since the spiked lemonade. Unfortunately the only way he might get some was if one of them came down and that would most likely lead to more abuse. He was less worried about himself than his friends. They were the ones who needed to get out and he would do anything for that to happen.

Upstairs he heard the faint sound of someone heading down. That followed with steps echoing off the concrete walls of the basement. And then the door opened.

He saw Emily jerk awake instantly at the sense of the presence. It was Angie's father again, but this time he was carrying J.J in his arms. Reid froze as he carried her unconscious body into the lair. Her face was covered in a seemingly fresh layer of dust and from what he could see her legs were dripping blood. The sight of her in such a degrading manner as the child's dress made him nauseous. He couldn't even comprehend the reason behind that detail.

Reid wobbled up to a standing position the best as he could without tugging the chain too far. He grasped the cold concrete wall for balance. The man left his sight and brought her into some other room further into the labyrinth of a basement.

Before he returned he heard someone else trotting down the passageway. It was Angie. She was back to her daisy duke act wearing tight denim shorts and a glimmering green top tied up just above her belly button. Her smile was as bright as if she were walking into a pet shop full of puppies in a cage, not humans.

"Oh good, you're awake for breakfast!" she beamed at them with a spark of malice twinkling in her eyes.

Reid hadn't noticed the tray at first. She carefully took the key on the other side of the room off of her neck and unlocked the cell. For a moment he was relieved to see they were giving them some form of nourishment. Then he noticed the two dog bowls. One was filled with a murky liquid while the other had some form of kibbles and bits in it. He had the urge to grab one and throw it right in Angie's face, but Reid knew very well what that would lead to. Looking over at Emily, he saw the same internal groan of disgust occurring within her.

She placed them on the ground with a giggle of delight and backed away.

"Now, when someone gives you a treat what do you say?" Angie taunted with her hands clasped together like a Sunday school teacher.

Reid and Prentiss both hesitated. They glanced in each other's direction as if to silently agree on a response. It was clear that both of them wanted to make a cutting remark, but there safety was at hand as well as JJ's.

Angie didn't give them more than 10 seconds to act. She quickly pulled a 45 out of her back pocket and aimed it straight at Reid's head.

"What the fuck do you say?" she snarled. There was no doubt between either of the agents that she did not seem the least bit hesitant to shoot.

"Thank you," Reid said, looking into her eyes with forced sincerity.

"I don't think I believe you," she accused with her periodic burst of childish energy.

At that point Reid didn't know what she would do now. She could easily pull the trigger.

"Angie, please. Thank you for bringing up something to eat and drink," Emily affirmed with the patience of someone well trained in the art of negotiation.

"Shut the fuck up you little bitch," she responded. Looking towards the other room she yelled, "DADDY! Get in here!"

Reid's eyes widened at her words. He could've easily thanked her right away, but he was still trying to hold onto some pride he had built up over the past few years since his last abduction. Now he regretted his actions. Something like this didn't need to blow out of proportion.

With his usual drunken swagger, her father re-entered the room. Reid wasn't sure what he was doing back there that whole time, but his questions were answered as he saw the man wiping off the remnants of semen on his hands. The maniac must have been jerking off to the sight of their unconscious friend.

"What's the matter, Princess? These shits giving you trouble?" he smirked as he looked down at them like filth.

Reid's anger continued to boil within.

"They didn't even thank me nicely for their breakfast," she pouted with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Now what the fuck is the matter with you all?" he started with a tone of annoyance and offense, "We're nice enough to give you something to eat and you disrespect us? You're nothing but a bunch of fuck up cops thinking your shit don't stink!" he crescendoed with rage.

Reid could feel his pulse rising. He wouldn't doubt it if this would end for him right there and now. The man before him looked ready to kill. And then in a strange moment of pure tension he broke.

"Well that's not very nice is it?" he chuckled to himself.

Calmly he took a few steps into the cell right in front of the bowls.

"Hm, this looks a little dry, don't it?" he asked looking Reid straight in the eyes. He was the target of his anger. "Maybe we should do something about that."

With a smug smile he unzipped his pants and relieved himself with a sigh into the bowl of dog food.

"Why don't you try it now?" he coaxed while zipping up his pants. Angie was behind him giggling in delight.

Reid peered at Emily and then back to his captor. He realized there was no level of torment these people would hesitate to climb. His mind was completely blank, but he had to say something.

"Thank you, but I'm not very hungry," he stated quietly looking away from the situation.

"I'll tell you when the fuck you're hungry, boy. Get down on your hands and feet and eat that up!" he screamed in a hoarse rage.

There was nothing he could do. Reid went into a fully animalistic position, closing his eyes and forced his face near the bowl. He could smell the urine clearly.

"NOW!" the man screamed as he pulled out his own gun as a threat.

Reid lowered his head and forced himself to choke down the repulsing mixture. On her side, Emily didn't know what she could do. It was pointless to provoke them and yet this sight made her want to vomit and shoot these bastards up with their own guns.

Unexpectedly, Luke entered. It was the first time Emily and Reid had ever laid eyes on him. Reid took the opportunity to stop eating. He was very close to throwing up, but he could only guess what he would have to do if that happened.

"Pa, Uncle Davey is here… he's upstairs," he mumbled looking down at the floor with uneasiness.

"Ah good, send him down here! I wanna introduce him to our new friends."

Another one. Another one of these twisted freaks was here. Emily couldn't imagine any person in close relation to this family could be any different. They were already subjected to torture and humiliation. She didn't want to think about what else they were planning. Or maybe they didn't have a plan. Maybe they were breaking them slowly to extend the fun. She wanted to stay strong, but a tiny fragment in the back of her mind kept whispering: you're not going to get out of here alive.

The agent didn't even want to look at her friend. He was down on his hands and knees. She sensed it was about to get much worse for him. And J.J. She didn't even know what kind of condition she was in. Emily saw blood, but she had no idea what the wound was or whether it could be fatal. Here she was watching her two friends being crushed and she could do nothing.

She could faintly hear the sound of footsteps echoing off the concrete halls leading to their dungeon. Emily closed her eyes for a moment as she repeated to herself: "it's going to be okay". But it was not.

"Looks like Davey's stopped by for a little fun!" he exclaimed, giving Emily a wink. Her stomach dropped as she was reminded of his body on hers, his tongue inside her mouth, and his nails scathing her back.

The door slammed open and the new guest came into view. He was heavy set with an ill-trimmed beard. The plaid shirt he was wearing was stained with oil grease and his skin almost shimmered with a similar glaze. Like the rest of his family, he possessed a gleam in his eye that made her skin crawl. A wide grin spanned his face as he stared down at Reid with excitement and curiosity.

_Always. It's always Reid._

Davey glanced at her for a moment, taking in her pained expression, and looked back down at his focus. He cocked his head as indication for his brother to open the cage. Reid was frozen in his stance, eyes on the ground. The portly man took a step forward and squatted down to Reid's level. Licking his lips, he gently lifted the young man's chin.

"Now who might you be?" he smiled with a toothy grin.

Emily couldn't take it anymore. She knew what would come and she also knew that Reid would break. The mental wall in his mind would crumble and everything would drown any grip of sanity he possessed. She had to do something.

"Don't. Don't you go near him." she snarled with a guttural force of anger.

The group of captors looked a little shocked and amused at this sudden verbal retaliation.

"I'm just trying to introduce myself, sweet thing," Davey said with a wink and a lick of his lips which surged Emily's anger even more.

"Don't," she repeated with the same intensity.

"Look like you don't know your manners either. We'll work this out later," Pa insisted with the same look he had when he first threw himself on her yesterday.

No. She needed to get Davey's attention, not his. Did she make things worse? She wished she possessed some adrenaline first strength to rip her chain out of the wall and raise hell on these bastards. But it would be the other way around.

He didn't know why she did it. It would only make things worse for herself and possibly him. Reid appreciated her friend was trying to divert attention away from him, but it was about to backfire.

"Weeeelllll, where were we?" Davey continued and focused his attention back on Reid. "Oh yeah, what's your name son?"

"Sp-spencer Reid," he managed to force out. He was trying to keep himself up as his hands trembled beneath him. Reid was afraid his voice might crack. They already saw him as some pathetic animal and he wasn't ready to give up whatever dignity he had left. He couldn't help but recall the past. Gideon's voice flowed into his head…

_You are stronger than him… he cannot break you._

This time it looked as though he could be broken… and into very small pieces.

"Ah-ah-ahhh, aren't you forgetting something, Doctor?" Angie chimed in looking giddy as ever.

Emily wasn't the only one who made a mistake. There were so many things he wished he would've done differently in the past twenty four hours. Why did he have to be flattered by a cheap act by a girl whose only desire was to slice him open? Why didn't he think to get them out of there when they had the chance? There were so many mistakes and it was costing them everything.

"Well look at what we have here, a real life doctor!" he exclaimed as he beamed around the room towards his cohorts.

"And an FBI agent," Pa dropped with disgust.

Davey let out a dry chuckle. "Whelp, we can't all be perfect, can we?"

Reid didn't know how much longer he could stay in this position. His arms ached and he was incredibly weak. His mouth was so dry it began to have a metallic taste. Then there was Davey staring down at him. That was probably making him the most sick.

"So why you on the ground, boy?" he asked with the same tone that teetered on the verge of laughter.

"He was rude, Uncle Davey. I brought him breakfast and he wouldn't even say thank you," she pouted yet again.

"Ah well that's not okay, son. My niece here deserves some respect, don't you think?"

His voice was beginning to change into a slow progression of anger. Reid couldn't hide the expression of fear and dread evolving over his face.

"Y-yes… I'm r-really sorry," Reid stuttered.

The young man knew they were moving closer and closer to the inevitable. He knew he was going to be dragged off somewhere and that he might not ever leave this dungeon again. He knew it, but he was not going to accept it.

"Sorry son, but that doesn't always cut it. You see when me and my little brother there were growing up we learned a lot about what happens when you don't behave, didn't we Jim? And sometimes it's not pleasant, but it needs to be done," he lectured.

"Please…" Reid pleaded as he tried to control his breathing which was becoming increasingly erratic.

"We're just gonna have a little talk," Davey chuckled as he gave Reid a light pat on the cheek. "Jimmy, I'm gonna need this one in the back."

Angie's father, now properly introduced, nodded as he grabbed the key off the back table.

"Which room?" he asked.

"You know which one," his brother hinted with a wink.

Jim fully understood and went past his brother to unchain the young man. Reid knew this was it. If they took him back there it would be over. He looked back at Emily as they yanked him up with pure pain. She could only look on in horror and wonder what was to become of him.

"Luke, grab me a beer and a chair will yah?" Davey hollered at his nephew looming in the corner.

Along with his brother, he grabbed hold of Reid's frail limbs and led him towards the darkness that continued down the paths of the basement.

All Emily could stand there as her mind raced with the same word over and over again.

_No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no_

_**X This section contains triggering mature content, reader discretion advised X** _

Reid could barely see despite the single light bulbs hanging every few feet. At this point the two brothers were pretty much dragging him along. How he wished he could fight back, that he had the strength to.

"Here we are… your deluxe suite." Jim announced.

The room looked extremely medieval compared to his previous surroundings. There as a thick wooden door with a half-circle cut out bearing bars. The door was halfway open, making the inside visible. A filthy, blood-stained mattress was spread out on the dirt coated concrete floor. There were also scratch marks on the walls.

A sensation of fight or flight raced through him but he knew he didn't have a chance at either being successful. Would this be where he would spend the remainder of his time alive? He didn't even know how long that would be.

Jim shoved him in just about the same time Luke shuffled down the hall carrying what Davey had asked for: a beer and a chair.

"Thank you, Luke," he nodded with a condescending tone. Luke continued to frown and walk away down the hall.

He was in great peril, but his mind was racing like the profiler he was. There was a definite wedge between Luke and his family. He wasn't the same. In fact, he didn't even look like the rest of them. If only he could talk to him he might be able to get inside his mind and find a way to get help. For now, he could do nothing.

"That'll do, Jim… I have some business to take care of," Davey said. It was obvious he wanted his time alone with the agent.

He grabbed his chair with his empty hand and pulled it into the room, closing the door behind him. Again, there was only a single lightbulb above. Davey squatted and sat backward on the chair, his feet hanging over the sides as he looked Reid down.

"So… here we are," he started with a relaxed sigh.

Reid wished he would stop looking at him. Just his expression made him want to vomit.

"What do you want?" Reid asked distantly.

"I told you, son. I need to teach you a little something… but that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun. Now what is that on your chest there?"

Reid almost forgot about the carvings. They stopped hurting a few hours ago. Now they were starting to heal a little bit, but not much. However, they still portrayed the one word distinctly.

"Angie," he murmured. He didn't want to go into detail with her Uncle. The man might discover something else he needed "punishment" for. Reid wished it could be over already. But he knew that these kinds of people liked to draw everything out slowly, waiting for the final climax.

"She's a pistol, that one," he snorted with amusement, "But what a looker."

Not wanting to offend, Reid semi-nodded in agreement. It was then that Davey really began looking at what it said. Reid actually saw some sort of like pop on in his eyes.

"Spencer, right? Why yah so tense, buddy? You look like you're gonna jump right out of your skin. How 'bout a drink?" he questioned. With a booming laughing he picked up his beer and poured half of it over Reid's head. The smell of the alcohol made the young man feel nauseous in his dehydrated condition.

"But you… no, you don't like girls do yah?" he asked in a rhetorical manner. "No, I know your type. You like a niiiice loooong dick in your mouth."

"N-no, no I don't… I like girls," Reid argued as his eyes glazed over in helplessness.

"Our Angie is a pretty good judge of character. You questioning that, boy?" Davey interrogated.

Before Reid could even answer, Davey began to take a pair of handcuffs out of his back pocket. Reid withdrew into the corner of the room, attempting to get in some sort of fighting stance. But this guy was twice his size. There would be no overpowering him.

"I think you like being fucked… I think you like it  _a lot_ ," Davey continued with a smile as he slowly approached Reid.

"I don't, I don't… please," Reid yelled at him. He was panicking. He was angry, disgusted and most of all frightened. If it was anyone else they wouldn't let someone do this to them. He was weak.

"Well I do," Davey confessed with a grin.

He then made a sudden lunge at the agent. His hands were powerful and forced Reid's own in front of him, handcuffing him. Reid made an attempt to wriggle free, but Davey pushed him down on the mattress.

Feebly, he crawled towards the door with his handcuffed hands outstretched towards the light. But he was pulled back by an intense force. Then Davey was on top of him. The weight was crushing and he could feel his ribs bending inside of him. He could hardly even breathe.

Reid couldn't help but scream as Davey's hands made his way down to his waist, attempting to unbutton his pants. Reality was fuzzy now. He screamed no over and over again and after a while it just kept echoing as everything went into slow motion. The large man's cold hands massaged his back with a deep moan and then withdrew; returning to scratch Reid's bare, exposed back.

The young agent's face was pushed against the filthy mattress. He could actually smell the blood that seeped in time after time. He tried to imagine something pleasant, something that could take him far from here, but the fear was too much. He'd already wet himself out of pure human instinct when presented with pure horror.

"Oh yeah boy, you like this don't you?" Davey asked with an aroused yell. Reid could only lay there as unwanted tears streamed down his face, but things were coming back into focus. When he didn't answer with words Davey boomed, "DON'T YOU?!" while he pulled Reid backwards by the scalp.

Reid knew he was only going to accept one answer, but he couldn't bring himself to lie. He had to maintain his pride. Like Gideon said, he could not let anyone break him. Reid knew that Morgan or Hotch would say the same if they had any idea where he was.

"No, I don't," he argued through clenched teeth. Reid closed his eyes and waiting for the outcome.

He could practically feel the rage building within Davey as the man straddled him.

"I'm gonna make you like it you little fucker!" he raged as he pulled his own pants down along with Reid's boxer's making him completely exposed.

The cool air of the dungeon room swept over Reid's back. This was actually happening.

The next moment he felt Davey inside of him with an immense thrust. The pain was incredible. Reid could feel his insides tearing away and the man thrust in and out. He never felt so helpless in all his life. And Davey did not retreat. It went on for what help like hours. The older man was penetrating every crevice of his body and forcing his mouth upon him. After a while Reid just slipped away, hiding in his broken mind.


	5. Chapter 5

She was spinning. Or maybe the world behind her eyes was rotating around her, she couldn't be sure. Jennifer grasped her sister's hands as the spun around in an infinite circle on the grassy lawn of her front yard. It was summertime, but the air was free of humidity and smelled like flowers and freshly mown grass. It was a simple game, but they laughed and laughed on all the same. They kept going faster and faster until they would inevitably fall to the ground. Jennifer could make out her sister mouthing something. Then it transferred into words…  _Wake up Jenny._

J.J's eyes flashed open as she awoke from her dream. It all seemed so real to her that for a moment she forgot where she was. Then it flooded back: the case, the car, the house, the family, the pain. Her body reminded her as well with aching limbs and the new wounds streaking her back. Now she remembered why she was in this darkness. She tried to escape to no avail and then the whipping. By the smell of her surroundings she guessed she was underground, most likely in the basement… and alone.

The need to know if her friends were actually alive was ripping her apart inside. It was almost two days since she saw them and now she didn't know what to think. She never doubted their strength, but they were all outnumbered and weakened. And then there was the question if the rest of the team had any clue where they might be. They were completely off the map and it would be an impossible task, but if anyone could do it, it would be the rest of the BAU.

J.J was lying on her stomach on what felt like a cot of sorts. The room was dark, except for a beam of light that peaked in through a barred window on the door. She wanted to get up to evaluate her new surroundings, but every time she moved her wounds burned.

Faintly, she heard voices. They quietly echoed down into her cell. It was difficult to make out what they were saying exactly. But then she heard Emily. Her voice sounded fiercely strong. A part of her anxiety melted away; her friend was alive. She still had no clue what condition she might be in, but she was breathing and talking. The thought of Reid still weighed her down. Was Emily protecting him? Or was she mourning him in her own way?

_Well look what we have her, a real life doctor!_

It was a new voice, but it confirmed the fact that Reid was there. She didn't like the tone this man was using. The drawl of his voice was pepped up as if he was enjoying himself a little too much. With that thought, J.J had to assume he was some relation of Angie's.

A few minutes went by without the captors raising their voices loud enough for her to hear. Then she heard footsteps making their way down the corridor. She had no choice but to get up now. J.J needed to know what was going on out there.

Her wounds flared with pain as she lifted herself upright on the cot. Standing up wasn't much easier with her sore legs. She managed to maneuver herself against the wall for support as she stumbled to the door. It felt exactly like the numbness in a dream, where the need to get away is overpowered, making the legs buckle under. They must have drugged her again.

Through a haze, she peered out of the tiny barred window, trying to find some glimpse of her friend's condition. Her stomach dropped and she felt suddenly sober at the sight of her beaten friend. They were dragging him down the walkway, Reid looking as though he was a broken marionette. It pained J.J to see he wasn't even fighting. She wanted to call out to him, but knew calling attention to herself would make it less likely for her to do something to help.

She didn't hear anything but the dripping of a pipe and the grunt of Angie's father walking by. Then the screaming started. There was no doubting it came from Reid. J.J clenched her eyes shut as she slid down the wall into a sitting position. Her wounds sent small bursts of stinging pain, but nothing comparable to what she felt internally.

It went on for what seemed like an hour until all the noise seemed to stop. Just one more sound. She just needed one more sound to know he was alive. Those couldn't be the last sounds she heard from one of her dearest friends, the godfather to her child. She wouldn't accept it.

A set of footsteps pattered down the hall. She didn't care which one of them it was. Her indifference ceased at the sound of the turning lock.

\---

Reid's eyes opened as the ancient wooden door slammed shut. An equally old lock snapped. He was finally gone.  _For now_.

It was as though he had been holding his breath for the last hour in the dark dungeon and now he could finally breathe. Unfortunately, breathing was not much better.

Hoarse, uncontrollable sobs erupted from his mouth. They were inhuman, coming from a place of deep, feral pain. Reid had experienced all forms of abuse throughout his life, but nothing left him this violated.

A mixture of blood and semen coated his back and behind. The blood belonged to him. The semen did not. There were also long scratches from his attacker's long, dirty fingernails. They stung dully and were nothing compared to what Reid felt below the belt.

His attacker had thrust into him without any form of lubrication. After he started to bleed the blood became a natural form, but the damage was already done. Davey flipped Reid over onto his back after the initial attacks and sat on his chest. The large man weighed a ton and Reid felt his ribs beginning to bruise. Before he knew it, a fat, hairy member was shoved in his mouth. He thought of just biting it off, but there would be obvious repercussions from the rest of the psychotic family.

_Suck it like a good little slut, doc_ ,  _or I'll just have to make your friend out there do it instead,_ Davey cooed while holding Reid's head in place.

The young man felt guilty enough about the three of them ending up in this position in the first place. He wasn't about to let anyone else suffer on account of him. The man left Reid with no choice but to please him. Davey shoved it further down Reid's throat causing the agent to gag. Reid tried to maneuver some sort of pleasure with his tongue, which resulted in a hot stream of cum in his mouth.

Thinking of that moment, Reid wished he had a bottle of Listerine. The putrid taste of the man's semen still infiltrated his mouth.

Finally mustering some energy, Reid pushed himself up with his handcuffed hands. His clothing, now covered in blood and filth, was scattered all around the small cell like the scarecrow after the attack of the flying monkeys. Getting on his feet was the real challenge. His behind was extremely sore and he felt his stomach cramping from digesting the unimaginable combination of urine and dog food. However, he managed to gain his footing after a few moments.

He found his boxers in one corner. Picking them up, he remembered he soiled them when Davey first started to attack. Instead he went for his pants, which were less affected. His shirt was over by the door, but was basically shredded from Davey ripping it off of him. Still, some coverage was better than none.

The room was unsettlingly quiet. Reid knew very well that his friends could have endured worse while he was dragged away. In a way, he would have rather heard them scream just to know they were still alive.

Reid looked out the small barred window, but the passageway was abandoned. He almost walked away before he saw someone walking towards his cell. It was Luke, who he could only assume was Angie's brother… the one who supposedly had a cell phone. He knew he had to get his attention. Reid was aware he wasn't strong physically, but he was sure of his ability to talk his way out of most situations. Maybe there was some trigger that could get Luke to help him and his friends out.

Luke's bulky figure made his way towards Reid's cell. It was then that Reid saw he had a water bottle in his hand. This was a good sign already. Despite living with a group of sadists, maybe Luke had some ounce of compassion. He could even have been a victim himself.

Luke unlocked the padlock of the door with a small key and opened it as Reid stepped back. Reid focused in on him, ready to profile. There was definitely some sympathy on his face as he looked down at the mattress. Had Davey abused him too? When he gazed at Reid he still maintained a sort of melancholy.

The man offered the water bottle to Reid who took it with a small smile. He struggled to get the top off at first with his handcuffed hands, but he maneuvered it off and poured the contents down his throat. He couldn't remember water ever tasting so good in his life.

"Thank you," he started. "It's Luke, right?"

The man nodded, his face void of any distinct emotion. Reid sensed he was surprised to be address with any sort of kindness.

"Hi Luke, my name is Spencer Reid," he said calmly.

Luke hesitated to respond. There was definitely something going on in his head, but he wasn't able to put the words together. From his mannerisms, Reid guessed he might have a form of mild autism.

"You're… you're a doctor?" Luke asked with wide, watery eyes staring at Reid.

"Yes, I am," said Reid. He wasn't about to clarify that he wasn't trained medically when this was starting to sound like a way out.

"Can you make my friend better?" he questioned.

His friend? Reid knew there was one of three possibilities. Luke could have some sort of pet that needed medical help or possibly even another person in the house Reid had yet to meet. But the third possibility was the one most on his mind: he was talking about J.J.

"I- I can try," Reid replied.

With that Luke jumped into action and grabbed Reid by the forearm, pulling him out into the underground hallway. The lights starkly contrasted from the dark shadows of the cell making Reid wince at the sight.

His blood was pumping now. It was obvious that Luke was going against the rest of his family and if they were caught it would be bad for the both of them. Luckily, their trip ended twenty feet away.

The door was identical to the cell they just left. Luke took out a key again and unlocked the padlock. It was very dim inside the cell. It was about the same size as Reid's but there was a cot on it. At first Reid thought he was looking at a young girl, but then his heart dropped. It was J.J. She was donning a childish frock, but her long blonde hair gave her away despite being turned away from the door.

"J.J.," Reid gasped before dropping to his knees in front of the bed.

She looked as though she was in the middle of a dream. Reid hoped it was a pleasant one far away from here.

J.J began to stir, sensing someone was near. She turned over slowly; ready to face an impending attack. But then she registered that it was Reid beside here.

"R-Reid?" she stammered. "Oh my god, Reid!"

She flung her arms around him despite the pain of the wounds on her back. Although she didn't intend to lose herself, she found tears dripping down her face. Her friend was a mess. He was bloody, dirty and obviously terrified. The bags under his eyes were even more defined than usual. She also noticed he was handcuffed.

Reid hugged her back as best as he could with his hands still bound. He wasn't sure if he would see her alive again after what they endured so far.

"Are you better now?" Luke interrupted, standing by the doorframe.

Reid and J.J exchanged a look that created agreement to play along.

"I'm feeling a little better Luke, thank you," J.J returned with a smile. "Thank you for bringing my friend Spence to visit me."

Luke smiled back silently. Reid was relieved he wasn't going to bring him back to his cell right away. He turned back to J.J who gently held his hand.

"Reid, what happened to you?" she asked looking him over again.

"I'm fine, it's you I'm worried about," he admitted. J.J wasn't buying it. There was something in his face that said something horrible happened.

"E-Emily?" she asked, realizing Reid might know where she was.

"She's alive, but… Angie's father attacked her before. She said she's okay, but I don't know," Reid admitted.

"Like you?" J.J retorted.

"J.J, please don't worry about me," he urged. "What did they do to you?"

J.J then relayed how she tried to escape to no avail. She also told him a mild version of the beating she had taken, including the whipping. Reid insisted on checking out her wounds to make sure they were clean.

"J.J, follow my lead," he whispered.

"Luke, J.J is really, really sick," Reid told the man keeping guard.

He let out a moan and started playing with the hem of his shirt nervously.

"She needs to get to a hospital or she might not make it," Reid lied.

Luke started to cry at this. The truth was J.J would live, but they needed Luke to think otherwise. He was apparently very attached to the agent and would break the house rules to help her.

"They won't let me," he sobbed. "They told me I could have her, she can't die!"

This alarmed the two agents, but they maintained their cool: Reid making eye contact with Luke and J.J feigning her illness.

"They don't have to know, Luke," Reid said. "I could take her to another town for a little while and then we'll come back when she's all better."

Luke continued to cry at this.

"They'll find out! They always do?" he moaned.

"Is there a way out of here besides where we came in, Luke?" Reid continued. "Stairs from the outside, maybe?"

Something hit Luke then. Reid's and J.J's hearts leapt at the possibility.

"There's a small hole that goes outside," Luke admitted.

A crawl space. There was a crawl space. If just J.J could get out and find help there might be a chance.

"Luke, can you bring us to it? I don't know how long J.J has," Reid urged.

Luke seemed to be struggling with the idea for quite some time while the agent's hearts raced at the thought of escaping. Reid already decided he had to remain here and find Emily. He would rather die than leave her behind.

Suddenly, he came to a decision.

"Yes."


	6. Chapter 6

Hotch stared down the seemingly never-ending highway as he drove down Route 94. Morgan was in the passenger seat next to him, constantly checking his phone for any sign of communication from their friends. Two officers in a police car followed behind for backup. Rossi took another SUV with a couple other officers all the way up to Glendive, a three hour trip, while Morgan and Hotch inspected the back roads along the way. They were an hour and a half in and hadn't reached a town yet.

"I can see how someone could get stuck out here," Morgan said. "We've been out here, what? An hour? And I'm already getting withdrawal from civilization."

Hotch silently agreed. The Yellowstone River paralleled the highway with countless reservations on the other side of the road. It would have been a beautiful sight to behold in other circumstances, but the agents felt in their guts that something was very, very wrong about all this.

Finally a sign came into view. It said: Welcome to Forsyth! Population: 1,800.

"Wow, my college graduating class had more people than this town," Morgan remarked.

"Well, people in small towns are more likely to remember strangers passing through. If they saw them, we'll find out," said Hotch, trying to remain slightly optimistic behind his stern exterior.

They pulled onto Main Street and sure enough a few heads turned at the sight of the large black SUV and patrol car rolling into town.

"Garcia just texted me. The sheriff's office is right around the corner from here. Rosebud County Sheriff," Morgan said, slightly smiling at the text message, which contained a few sexual details he didn't disclose.

"Good. We'll start there and give the officers the pictures to show around town," Hotch said.

Before they left Billings, they printed out a memo with Reid, J.J, and Prentiss's personnel file photos. Reid's hair was much longer in the picture, but his small frame and slight nerdiness would be easy to remember in these parts, Morgan thought.

When they arrived at the Rosebud office Hotch walked over to the patrol car and told them what the plan was. Then they drove off in search of residents who might have seen something.

"God, it's hot out here," Hotch mumbled as he and Morgan walked up a flight of stairs to the lobby.

Morgan stopped with a look of concern.

"If they're outside in this, how long do they have?" Morgan asked his superior.

"I'm no Reid, but I would say a few days," Hotch responding, focusing on not letting his emotions slip out. "At this temperature we have to consider the risk of exposure and dehydration."

"Well if I know Emily she would have found shelter by now," Morgan said, trying to be positive. "She grew up camping."

"The thing I'm worried about is finding shelter," Hotch started. "This road goes on for miles without a town in sight."

"Well let's hope pretty boy remembered those maps," Morgan said, mostly to himself.

As they entered the lobby, a man with a thick mustache approached them. The gold star on his chest indicated he was the sheriff they were looking for. He looked like your typical small county sheriff: aging, stressed and desperate for some action.

"Agents," he started gruffly. Then he offered his hand. "I'm Sheriff McKinley."

"SSA Agent Hotchner and this is SSA Derek Morgan. We're from the BAU in Quantico" Hotch relayed, shaking the man's hand firmly. Morgan did the same.

"Well what can I do for you today? I have to say I've already received some calls from a few folks who think there's a killer on the loose," he said with a light laugh.

"Not exactly," Hotch said. "We're looking for three of our agents. We lost contact with them on their way from Glendive to Billings. We just finished a case there."

"Right, that creep who was killing the little girls. Hope that son-of-a-bitch fries, that's for sure," McKinley replied with a look of disdain.

"I hear you on that," Morgan agreed, remembering the basement dungeon the pedophile kept the girls in. He kept them for five days doing the unthinkable before suffocating them.

"We were wondering if anyone in town might have seen them come through. They were driving an SUV like ours," Hotch said, getting the conversation into focus. "Their pictures are on these fliers."

McKinley looked at it for a moment before shaking his head.

"I can't say I heard anything about it if they did. But I have a feeling I would have given the locals' reactions to you fellahs," he said with a hint of remorse in his voice.

"What about your local dispatch?" Morgan pursued. "Any sightings of abandoned vehicles? Accidents?"

"To be honest, Agent Morgan, it's been pretty darn quiet around here the last few days. Not even a domestic disturbance," the sheriff admitted. "But to tell you the truth, Route 94 is a bitch to deal with. It goes through seven different counties, most of which have their own force. It gets very political at times. Many offices don't like to share much."

Hotch and Morgan both frowned at this. They knew just how irritating jurisdiction drama could be. There were many famous cases where this kind of lack of communication caused cases to go unsolved – like The Zodiac.

"One thing I can tell you though is there have been a fair share of unsolved missing persons cases in the area," McKinley confessed.

"How many is a fair share?" Hotch asked with a sense of urgency.

"We're out there searching for people three or four times a year," McKinley stated. "Mostly out of towners camping along the Yellowstone."

"And how many have you found?" Morgan demanded, starting to get frustrated.

"Not many. A lot of families just face the fact that mother nature got them. The amount of drownings out there is astronomical," he answered.

"Sheriff, our people are FBI agents trained in survival skills. It is very unlikely they would drown," Hotch returned.

"What we need to know is if there's been any foul play out here," Morgan demanded.

"Like I said, if there has been one of the other offices might know about it, but not us," McKinley contended. "Unless you count a few local legends, but that's not what I call evidence."

"Local legends…?" Hotch asked, his interest perked.

"Yeah, you know. Just that bull that goes around to scare younger kids," he replied.

Hotch and Morgan both waited for him to continue with stern interest.

"Okay, so legend goes that the fork of Route 94 and Route 12 in Miles City is haunted by a beautiful woman in white who leads you to the middle of nowhere," McKinley said, giving the impression he felt a bit silly. "And then you disappear… forever."

"Has anyone gone missing around there?" Morgan asked.

"Wait, you can't be serious. This isn't a lead or anything… it's just a stupid story," McKinley asserted.

"Sometimes we find that stories like these can actually lead to some truth," Hotch replied. "It may not be a ghost or the boogeyman, but it could be something human and dangerous."

"Whatever you say agent," McKinley said with a shrug. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No, that will be all for now. But please call us if you hear anything," Hotch told him, handing him his contact card.

"Sure thing. Agents," he said with a nod before heading back towards what appeared to be his office.

Hotch and Morgan headed towards the door. Both their heads were stirring with the faint possibility that this legend could hold some truth.

"Morgan, I want you to call Garcia and have her look up missing persons cases in between Billings and Glen Dive," Hotch said as they walked out into the blazing dry heat. "We're going out to that fork."

\---

Reid helped J.J along through the long passageway. Her legs were still uneasy from being whipped that morning. In her dress she felt like an over-loved ragdoll. Tension electrocuted the trio as Luke guided them to the crawlspace. Any sound, no matter how miniscule, caused them to freeze with fear. If they were caught trying to escape there wouldn't be another chance – they would be dead.

Luckily, JJ realized Angie unknowingly provided her with a way to get Reid out of his handcuffs. There was a bobby pin with a pink bow in her hair that allowed her to pick the lock to perfection. Reid's wrists were raw and bleeding, but now he had a better chance of survival - especially if he was going to save Emily.

Finally they reached a break in the cement of the right hand wall. Reid peered inside to see if Luke was right. A few feet into the small space was an elevated level of what appeared to be the house's foundation. If there were window to the outside in there they would be one step closer to being rescued.

"Okay Luke," Reid started. "I need you to listen to me. We have to lift J.J up into the crawl space so she can get outside."

"Without us?" he asked with much concern painted on his face.

"No, Luke. You're going to go upstairs and go outside just like everything is fine. If anyone asks, you're going for a walk," Reid instructed calmly. "And then you're going to meet J.J behind in the house and head for the hospital. Do you know where it is?"

"Yes. Miles City. I had to get my appendix out once," he said innocently.

J.J started to look panicked at their conversation. Could they trust Luke? After all, he was one of them. He was the one who dragged her back the first time. But if Reid trusted him, she supposed she had no choice. But that wasn't the only thought bothering her.

"Wait Reid. What about you and Emily? I'm not just going to leave you here," she said tremulously.

"J.J, we don't have a choice," Reid practically whispered hoping Luke was lost in his own thoughts. "Someone has to get help and we can't leave Emily alone with them. I can hold them off until you get the team here, okay?"

At this, J.J started tearing up. She knew there was a chance she might never see her friends again if she left, but there was an even greater chance that she wouldn't see Henry and Will again if she stayed.

She embraced Reid as a sign of understanding what needed to be done. Her makeup was running down her face and onto what remained of Reid's shirt. He held her tight and nuzzled the top of her head before giving her a soft kiss on the forehead. Reid didn't want to let go, but they had no time to spare.

"Okay Luke, help me lift her up," Reid instructed, giving J.J one last look as if to preserve her memory.

Reid held his hands in front of himself and motioned for Luke to do the same.

"J.J, just put your foot on and we'll lift you up," Reid said.

She followed the instructions and they boosted her up to the crawlspace. She struggled to get in at first, but found her balance. Inside it was cool and filthy. There was a dead rat a few feet away and she cringed at the sight. But there was in fact a window that wasn't sealed.

"I found the window!" she shouted to them as she crawled toward it.

With one big push, the wooden frame gave out and fell to the earth on the other side. A drift of mild, fresh air filled J.J's lungs. This was it.

Down below, Reid breathed a sigh of relief. At last there was some hope they might survive.

"Luke, do you remember what I told you to do?" he asked.

"Yes. And thank you," Luke said before giving Reid a bone-crunching hug.

"Lu-Luke, you're welcome," Reid returned, wiggling out of his grasp. "And remember, no matter what, keep J.J safe."

Luke nodded and headed back down the passageway leaving Reid alone in the chilly darkness. He supposed he hadn't given much thought to what exactly he would do to give Emily and him more time before J.J hopefully reached help. In reality there were only two options: to fight or to just take whatever was thrown at them. He had nothing to defend himself with and he doubted Emily did either. He didn't even know if she was okay.

One thing was for sure. He couldn't bring attention to the fact that J.J was missing. If he wandered out to find Emily, it would certainly make the rest of the family suspicious. His best bet was the lock J.J's former cell and then lock himself back in his and wait. To die, or live, he wasn't sure. He just prayed J.J would soon be safe.

\---

It could have been minutes, day, hours since she last saw Reid dragged away. She couldn't be sure. So much had happened since then. So much pain. It stopped, but she knew it was only a matter of time.

When Pa came back after depositing Reid somewhere with Davey, he instructed Angie to grab Emily out of the cell. Despite putting up a fight – including punching Angie in the tit – she ended up strapped down to the surgical table on the other side of the room.

She was completely nude after Angie ripped off the remaining clothes she had left. It wasn't so much that that bothered her as much as the various instruments of torture lining the walls. In another situation she might have been able to take it, but the rape left her weak.

Angie came up behind her with a large pair of scissors. She grabbed a hold of Prentiss' silky, black hair and started cutting away. Emily cringed at the sound of hair being snipped away, but stayed focused.

It's just hair. You can do this. Stay strong Emily.

After Angie finished with a maniacal laugh, she held up a mirror for Emily to see. Emily barely recognized the reflection. Not only did she only have a few patches of hair left, but her face was sullen and her eyes were dead.

Pa joined in on the mockery of it all.

"Perfect. You're little friend is a fag and now you're a big ole dyke," he cackled.

Emily cared very little about what he said. The only thing she cared about was the blowtorch in his hand.


	7. Chapter 7

The smell of seared flesh filled her nostrils as she bit down on the cloth gag they forced in her mouth. The pain was overwhelming, but the smell… the smell was horrifying. She supposed this is how a person lit on fire must feel. Sure it hurts, but to smell your body barbequing before you was something else entirely. Thankfully she was not in flames. Jimmy, the man she knew as Pa, was burning her stomach with a blowtorch. It was torture, but it wasn't life threatening. From the way he was concentrating and moving the torch precisely she knew he was burning words or some symbol on her permanently.

It made her think of the marks on Reid.  _Reid._  Was he even still alive?

Her eyes began to water from the pain of her wounds and the thought of her friend beaten to a bloody pulp somewhere in the house. Still, she held back. She wasn't going to give these monsters that satisfaction.

Suddenly, the pain ceased – at least a little bit. Jimmy smiled at whatever he had burned into her. Angie excitedly joined his side and gazed at Emily's stomach.

"Oh Pa! You really should've been an artist," Angie cooed, running her fingers over the wounds.

"Hush girl, you're always trying butter me up for something," he accused, partly teasing, before giving his daughter a nauseating kiss on the lips.

Before another word was said, Davey entered the chamber grinning ear to ear. Prentiss knew whatever he was smiling about wasn't a good thing. If she wasn't bound and gagged she would have screamed at the bastard.

"A good fuck, huh?" Jimmy jeered at his brother.

Davey let out a brutish laugh as he pantomimed thrusting into an invisible person in front of him. The room filled with laughter. Prentiss' heart sunk at the idea of Reid at this man's mercy.

"He was made to be my little bottom bitch," Davey chuckled. "So tight too."

At this, Prentiss felt a wave of rage rush over her body. Her eyes were shooting daggers and her bound body was shaking.  _How dare they talk about him like that_ , she thought.

"The little slut choked though," he cackled maliciously. "Too much man for him right here."

At that, Prentiss started to shout at the man. Her speech was muffled and slurred through the gag, but she kept shouting until her throat burned.

"Oh, there you are sweet thing. Barely noticed you over there," Davey mocked, revealing his rotting teeth in a grin. "If I didn't know any better I would have thought you were a boy."

Prentiss rolled her eyes as the twisted family laughed. She could have cared less how she looked. She just wanted to get her and her friends out in one piece. Hair grows back, lives don't.

"At least you still have those girly parts though," Jimmy said with a wink.

Angie's eyes suddenly became large and excited like a toddler receiving a new toy.

"Can we burn it shut, Daddy? Pleaaaase," she whined.

Emily started to panic. She knew she wasn't likely to survive what Angie was suggesting. She needed to get out of there quick.

"Angie girl, you move too quick," Jimmy said shaking his head. "You wanna make 'em last."

"Can't waste a good thing while you got it," Davey agreed, clasping his brother on the back.

This calmed her – barely, but a little bit. More time meant a better chance that the team would get to them in time. She knew Morgan, Hotch and Rossi wouldn't leave any rock unturned in Montana until they found them.

"But the bitch has to pay!" she shouted, almost childlike.

Jimmy and Davey looked at each other for a moment, making a mental agreement.

"Don't worry girl, you're sure gonna like what we got," Jimmy said as Davey went into a closet that could only be assumed to contain more weapons of torture.

In his absence Davey wandered over to Emily trying to make out what is said on her stomach. He followed the letters across with his doughy index finger, irritating the burns along the way.

"C-U-M-S-L-U-T," he spelled out slowly, continuing to make Emily doubt his IQ was far above Forest Gump's.

Angie giggled and clapped at this.

"Just like your new bitch Uncle Davey," she cooed. "We should give him a matching tramp stamp!"

If Emily ever managed to get out of this situation she would have to throttle the little sadist. Morgan could break Jimmy and Davey's arms, but she would save Angie for herself. She shook her head, brushing away the fantasy. She needed to focus and not let herself become an animal like them.

Jimmy returned with a sly grin painting his face. He was holding an ancient looking metal box that was around the size of an average shoebox. Emily knew that whatever was in there she wasn't going to like it.

"Darn!" Davey exclaimed. "Haven't seen that thing out of there since Daddy passed."

Angie crossed her arms impatiently. She obviously didn't like being out of the loop too long.

"Well it's a special occasion," Jimmy explained. "Not everyday we have the F.B.I here."

"I wanna see!" Angie whined.

"Alright, alright," Jimmy returned as he placed the box on the tool counter and opened it up.

Davey and Angie were crowding around him now so it was hard for Emily to get a glimpse of what awaited her.

"Just like I remembered it," Davey said in awe.

"What the hell is it?" Angie demanded, bratty as ever.

Finally they backed up and Emily could see what Jimmy had in his hands. At first she thought the tool was some sort of bottle opener, but then she recognized the wind up base and the parted metal petals that resembled a blossom. Some historians called it the choke pear, a reference to its use as a gag, but she knew it as the pear of anguish.

"Your Granddaddy called it the pear," Jimmy smiled as he gazed at the medieval device with affection.

Emily cringed. In college she took an in-depth course on medieval culture and she learned about all the worst forms of torture. She remembered the pear of anguish was considered one of the most painful devices. However, the rate of survival was far higher than other medieval methods.

"All you gotta do is stick it up any hole – mouth, asshole or pussy – and wind it up," Davey explained, almost bouncy in anticipation of its use.

"Hah, I like the sound of that," Angie said starting to sound more intrigued.

"Well Jimmy boy, since you claimed her, why don't you do the honors?" Davey proposed with another toothy grin.

"Sounds like a plan. You can use it on your bitch later," Jimmy said slyly.

Emily bit down on her gag in anger. She would take hours of torture to stop them from getting at Reid. She didn't even want to think about what kind of state he was in now.

"Come on Daddy! I wanna see the bitch squirm," said Angie manically.

Jimmy didn't respond. He simply ran a finger down the length of Emily's body. She felt goose bumps arise at his touch – mostly out of apprehension. There was no getting away from the pain that awaited her.

The man went for the pear, admiring it like a piece of artwork as he took it out of the box. Angie and Davey went for Emily, holding her legs down so she would be unable to close them whatsoever. With this she closed her eyes shut. She wasn't about to watch this horrific scene.

Then she felt it. It wasn't like sex or even using a dildo, but more so a candlestick being stuck inside her. She couldn't help but let out a small gasp as it went further and further in.

"Here it goes…" Jimmy smiled as he began to turn the crank that would open the pear.

Emily had no control now. She screamed through her gag as the metal pieces of the device stretched and cut her insides. All she could hear around her was laughter and euphoric whoops of sadistic glee. Those were the last sounds she heard before she lost consciousness.

\---

**Two Hours Later**

It wasn't until he heard steps coming down the passage way that Reid realized he had fallen asleep. He was up leaning against the battered wall in the back of the cell. At no point, however, did he forget where he was. He slowly remembered his dream where he was being forced to clean up Emily and JJ's blood after they were drawn and quartered. As he awoke he was comforted with the realization that J.J was out of the house of hell and hopefully on her way to get help.

He expected the steps to reach his cell, but instead they seemed to stop.

 _J.J_ 's  _cell,_ he thought.

Reid had yet to consider what the family's reaction would be to J.J's disappearance. He knew it would be something between rage and a killing spree, but he hoped it might lean toward the former. Only time would tell.

Surely enough curses and stomps erupted from the hall. Reid quickly reattached the handcuffs around his wrists, shed his clothes – placing them in the right spots – and returned to the position Davey left him in as closed his eyes. This would be their next stop and he hoped he might look less guilty if he looked like he hadn't moved.

The door burst open revealing Davey and Jimmy without a sign of amusement on either of their homely faces.

"Wake up you little shit," Davey roared, giving Reid a direct kick in the head.

The young agent saw stars as his hands instantly flung over his head to protect himself. And so it began.

"Where is she?" Jimmy screamed as he grabbed Reid up by his hair.

Reid, still recovering from the blow, winced and looked up at his captor.

"Who?" he rasped.

 **"YOU KNOW WHO!"** Jimmy snarled, projecting saliva onto Reid's already dirty face.

Reid did his best to maintain a dumbstruck expression of innocence. These two weren't exactly FBI profilers, but they certainly had proven they weren't completely dumb.

"The blondie you came here with, boy!" Jimmy said with bitter reluctance.

"I haven't seen her since you  _drugged_  us," Reid said, trying his best to hide his contempt.

Davey gripped Reid's scalp even tighter as he stared him down.

"You're lying to me, boy," Jim snapped.

"I'm not," he started.

Then Jimmy forcefully pushed his brother out of the way, causing him to release Reid back onto the mattress. He proceeded to punch any place his hands seemed to land. Reid covered his face to protect himself from any head injuries.

By the time Jimmy stopped, Reid was a bloody mess. His nose was broken and blood poured down his face, his shoulder felt dislocated and his legs were more bruised than not.

"Come on Jim, let's bring him back to the cage where we can keep an eye on them," Davey said.

Reid could only guess than Davey didn't want his brother to destroy what he had claimed too soon.

Jimmy nodded and spat on Reid's head.

"We're gonna find her, boy. And you're all gonna pay."

\---

Once again JJ felt like she was in a dream. Adrenaline pumped through her system and her heart beat rapidly. This time, however, she had control of her legs. She also had some control of her former captor. For such a large man, he ran just as fast. She almost fell behind at one point, actually. And while she was not sure where exactly they were going, she knew any direction away from that house of horrors would be salvation.

In their first half-mile sprint, she hadn't even realized her feet were bleeding. The too small dress shoes were cutting into the back of her ankles and the front straps suffocated the tops of her feet.

"Luke! Stop!" she bellowed as she slowed down, coming to a stop. With that, she hunched over grabbing her knees for support as her heart rate decreased.

Luke stopped dead in his tracks and ran back over to her at lightning speed.

"We need to go! They'll find us," he urged, showing more humanity than she'd seen before.

"I…need…new…s-shoes," she pushed out, her breath coming back to her slowly but surely.

His gaze shifted from her fatigued face to her blood soaked feet.

"I'll carry you," he said, moving towards her.

"No!" JJ unintentionally shouted, causing Luke to jump back with alarm.

"I mean no, Luke. We both have to be able to run if we need to," she said more calmly.

"We… we can't go back," Luke said, looking around with paranoia.

"I know, Luke… we can't do that," JJ agreed, gently putting her hand on his arm. "But is there somewhere we can find sneakers or boots?"

At that Luke's expressed turned pained. It was like he was battling with his thoughts within the confines of his skull.

"Luke…?" JJ continued, still holding his arm gently.

"I'm – I'm not supposed to go there. I'm not allowed," he half whispered in fright, pulling at his shirt with anxiety.

JJ would have backed down in any other context, knowing he was in obvious distress. However, anywhere their captors didn't want them to go could mean safety.

"Luke, they can't control you anymore. We need to get away from here," JJ said as calmly as she could. At this point the last thing she could afford was the team's only ally breaking down.

For a while he remained in thought and JJ's anxiety rose, starting to feel the time running out before the family would search for them.

"O-okay… there's a store in the old place. There might be something there," Luke finally said.

"What's the old place?" JJ asked, wondering whether this would be a safe location.

"It's like a…" Luke struggled. "Like a town."

 _Town?_  JJ questioned to herself. He must have meant the town they first drove into. Ismay, she remembered. There was the sign, and the dirt roads and the barbeque place, where they first asked to use a phone. The woman told them there wasn't a phone. But… but, then how did Angie know they were coming. Their drinks were already prepared and spiked. It suddenly occurred to her that maybe there was a phone there after all – a phone that Garcia could trace. If there was in fact a phone there, there was a chance the three of them could get out alive.

"Okay, let's go," she said, showing the closest thing to a smile she could conjure.

Luke picked her up and she didn't object. They needed to get there as fast as humanly possible.

**\---**

The afternoon was dwindling down by the time they reached Miles City. The heat, however, was not. Morgan had a bad feeling in his gut ever since the Sheriff told them about the region's ominous legend. Well, the entire situation didn't sit right with him, but that especially. There was something about it that sounded familiar. Right after they left Forsyth Morgan speed dialed Garcia to ask her to research any sightings of a "woman in white" in the area. He couldn't stomach the fact that this was the only lead they had.

The pulsing vibration of his phone broke the silence in the car. Morgan instantly snapped up his phone from the cupholder and answered.

"Hey Babygirl, did you find anything?" Morgan asked as he put her on speakerphone for Hotch to hear as well.

"You can bet your fine self I did. So I did a record search of any cases that involved the sighting of a woman in white clothing and cross-referenced them with missing person's cases. I came up with ten," she relayed.

"And what did the reports say?" Hotch asked.

"A lot of the people missing were separated from a group of people either camping or just taking a day trip. But they're  _all_  out-of-towners."

"The Sheriff said there were only a few cases each year," Morgan remembered aloud. He looked to Hotch. "You think he's hiding something?"

"I don't think so. He's out of the immediate area and I don't believe he would have anything to gain, especially so far away from Miles City," Hotch replied.

"So maybe the whole woman in white sighting is a smaller variable. Garcia, can you look for missing person's cases spanning from Billings to Glendive involving travelers?"

"Your wish is my co- woah," she said, her voice dropping into shock.

"What is it, Garcia?" Hotch demanded.

"There's been over 100 cases of people reported missing in the area in the last ten years. And they're all from out of town," she told them.

Morgan exchanged a troubled glance with Hotch. Over 100 people? Something was happening here and it was worse than they thought. The fact that their friends had mostly likely fell victim to whatever was out there was like a punch in the gut.

"Is there a common location where they were last seen?" Hotch questioned, his voice losing its usual sense of control.

"They all left Miles City… on Route 12."


	8. Chapter 8

Reid's vision flickered on and off as he was once again dragged through the damp, underground hallway. He took many blows to the head just moments before and he most likely had a concussion – yet another injury added to the list of what he endured so far. He wouldn't admit it to anyone else, but at this rate death seemed like an appealing fate. The only power he had left was his mind, which was slowly crumbling away along with his body.

The light at the end of the passageway made him wince. After lying in the darkness for so long the light was insufferably bright. Still, he would have preferred the pain to what he saw when his vision came to. At first he didn't recognize his friend with her hair chopped off, but it was Emily. She was back in the cage, bloody and seemingly unconscious. His eyes were drawn to the blood coating her bare thighs. That amount of blood loss was remarkably dangerous, especially for someone who had endured so many traumas in the last 36 hours.

"You feds ain't so tough now, huh?" Jimmy said, cackling to himself.

Reid had to hold back his emotions. Tears were dangerously close, but he wouldn't let them see him cry. They'd taken enough of his dignity. And Emily – Emily was one of the strongest people he knew. Now she looked like a doll mutilated by a disturbed child.

"Please…" Reid croaked. "I'll do anything. Just let her go."

Jimmy, Davey and Angie looked at each other and laughed.

"Awhhh, the widdle F-Bwee-Eye body wants to swave his fwend," Angie mocked.

"No such luck, fuck boy," Davey guffawed, throwing Reid to the ground.

He was surrounded and there was nothing he could do but stay on the ground.

"I still don't think you understand, boy," Jimmy started. "We can do anything we want to you whether we let that slut go or not."

Of course Reid already knew this, but he that didn't mean he wasn't going to at least try.

"We know you know how that other bitch got out. But see Angie here is going to find her… and bring back her pretty little head," Jimmy explained with a grin.

Across the room, Angie equipped herself with a small machete from the wall of instruments.

"I'll tell her you said hi, Doc," she giggled before taking off up the stairs.

 _No,_ he thought.

Luke was with her, yes, but Angie was dangerous and the two left without weapons. Reid found himself having trouble breathing at this. This was a panic attack if he ever experienced one.

"You know we can't let you get away with this, right?" Jimmy asked rhetorically.

"Fine. Just do it," Reid rasped, trying to regain some strength.

"What? _Kill you?!_ " Jimmy exclaimed. "Boy, that would be too easy. No, we have other plans for you."

"Get on all fours," Davey commanded, his eyes fixed on Reid in an unsettling display of lust.

Reid recognized that look instantly. He wanted to run, but he froze.

_No, no, no. This couldn't happen again._

"Are you fucking deaf? **GET ON ALL FOURS!** " Davey screamed. He gave Reid a sharp kick in the stomach, which made it all the more harder for him to get up.

"Please…" he begged.

Jimmy, losing patience, pulled him up by his hair and arranged him with his cuffed hands planted on the ground and his bruised knees touching the floor, completely exposed without a single article of clothing.

"You know what, we should wake the bitch up to see what a slut her agent man is," Jimmy said, obviously excited by his idea.

"You come up with the best stuff, Jim," Davey said, returning a grin.

He went over to an old sink near the torture table and filled up a bucket of water that sat on the floor. Meanwhile Jimmy opened the cage with his keys and left them in the hole.

"This should wake her up," said Davey, tossing the water on her sleeping form.

With a look of shock, Emily came to life. She was utterly confused, possibly lost in a dream of a better place. Then she saw Reid and frowned. The young man could barely make eye contact with her in such a degrading state. His eyes lacked their former life.

"Okay, now everyone's here for the show, you want front or back Davey?" Jimmy smiled.

"Your choice, brother," Davey offered.

Jimmy moved in front of Reid and unzipped his own filthy jeans to reveal his fat member. Reid felt the urge to vomit, but there was barely anything in his system to heave up.

"Stop it! Leave him alone!" Emily screamed to no avail.

"Shut up, you're up next bitch," Davey hollered back with a wink.

"Open your mouth, pretty boy," Jimmy said. "And don't even _think_ about using teeth or I'll blow that cunt's head off," he added, motioning over to Emily.

Reid didn't know what was more revolting, the act in which he was being forced to commit, the fact that his abuser used Morgan's nickname for him or that Emily was watching.

The foul part was shoved in his mouth before he had time to decide. The taste made him gag at first, which wasn't surprising since the men looked like they hadn't bathed since last summer.

"Come on, boy, you know what to do," Jimmy whispered as he grasped Reid's scalp.

The moments were a blur, but he felt everything. To make matters worse, Emily was in his line of sight the entire time.

As Jimmy forced him to suck his manhood, Davey took him violently from behind. Never in his life had he felt so much pain or indignity. He felt the wounds from his first encounter with Davey reopening and he bled out due to the lack of preparation or lubrication to ease the overwhelming pain.

At one point he heard Emily begin to sob. He couldn't help but wonder what they did to deserve this. They spent their lives saving people and catching killers like these so why did the world always throw irony in their faces?

Reid breathed a sigh of relief when the pain subsided. Maybe they were done and they would leave them be.

"Time to switch," Jimmy whispered in Reid's ear, violating him with hot, stale breath.

While the entire ordeal was repeated, Reid hid within his mind in a catatonic state. He had to in order to fight the forced pleasure he felt from his abuser aiming at his prostate. After what seemed like an eternity, he was tossed aside.

The two brothers stalked into Emily's cage, thirsting again after Reid's assault. Emily shut her eyes, ready to face what she had to.

Reid lifted his head and saw the men inside the cage along with a miracle – the keys were still in the keyhole. The only thing was, if he closed the cage Emily would be trapped inside… but only for a few seconds if he were quick enough to grab a weapon. It was a risk he had to take. It was the only way.

A sudden burst of adrenaline filled his body as he quickly got up and made a run to the cage. Before the assailants knew what was happening, Reid shut the door and locked it with the keys.

The sounds of their threats and protests merely bounced off him in his efforts to find a gun on the rack of weapons. And there it was.  _His_  revolver. Reid grabbed it and spun around to face the men who had made his and his friend's lives a living hell.

"Woah there, Doc, you're making a big mistake!" Jimmy snarled, moving to Emily with his hands outstretched.

Reid didn't even stop to think before shooting a bullet into the man's leg. He howled and fell to the floor in pain.

"You son-of-a," Davey started. Reid shot another bullet into his shoulder causing him to fall to the ground.

"Oh my god…" Emily gasped, starting to form a manic smile followed by tears.

Reid was shaking. He could hardly believe it. They had a chance of getting out alive.

"Reid, get me out of here!" Emily shouted, snapping him out of joyous delirium.

He quickly and cautiously opened the cage, keeping his gun aimed at the two men still on the floor of the cell. Reid handed Emily the keys, allowing her to unlock the collar around her neck. With that they both stood outside the cell while their former captors imprisoned - frozen.

Reid looked down at the gun in his hand. Every ounce of him wanted to put one shot each into the bastards in front of them. He knew he would regret it if he didn't, but he couldn't help of think of all the people who came before them and their families - not knowing if their loved ones were alive or dead or what happened to them. It was decided in his mind - they needed them alive. 

There was a brief moment of silence before the men began to moan and curse. Reid slid down to his knees, exhausted after conjuring energy he did not have. Prentiss also sank to his level, still in shock that they were almost free. She knew what was running through his head, but she trusted his decision not to kill them - despite not knowing his reasoning. 

Her friend was shaking. His expression was blank, but his entire body was shaking like a frightened animal. Emily pulled Reid into an embrace and held him. She hadn't been sure if he would reject her touch after all he had been through, but he held on to her just as tightly. They remained like that for a good five minutes.

"Let's get the hell out of here," she whispered, finally letting her friend go.

Reid wiped his eyes and nodded. Then he remembered… JJ.

"Emily, we need to find JJ! Angie's going to kill her," Reid said, anxiety racing through his body.

"What? She's not here?" Prentiss asked, very confused.

"No, Luke helped her escape and they're heading for the closest town," Reid confessed.

"I knew you should have gotten rid of that son-of-a-bitch a long time ago!" Davey screamed at Jimmy from the cell. Apparently they were still conscious.

"Reid, we have to call for help first. I bet you anything they have a phone here," Emily said. "And we need to find some clothes."

"Right," Reid agreed, hoping Luke would be enough to defend JJ before backup arrived.

"She's gonna skin your friend alive before you find her, you fuckers!" Jimmy screamed from the cage.

Reid wanted more than anything to turn around and silence the men for good, but even after all they went through he would not let them turn him into a killer.

"Go to hell," Reid spat before heading down the passageway out.


	9. Chapter 9

J.J kept her eyes closed as Luke carried her on the empty Montana roads. She knew that any moment their captors could emerge from behind. His strides on the uneven terrain were making her fairly nauseous as well. So with her eyes closed she pictured Henry, so innocent and untouched. Before him, she hadn't put much faith into tales of mothers going beyond human abilities to save or be with their children. Now she was a firm believer.

Before she knew it, Luke came to a sudden halt. Once again she was immersed in the darkness of the Montana night, but she could faintly see buildings a few feet away. There was an old fashioned general store, an archaic movie theater, a decaying post office and the restaurant. If her feet weren't in so much pain she would have run towards it. There had to be a phone in there, she thought, it was their only way to be rescued in time.

"Luke, can you look for the shoes and socks? I'm going to find us something to eat," J.J asked motioning to the restaurant only ten feet away.

The truth was she was still hesitant about trusting Luke. She didn't know what would or wouldn't set him off. He was obviously emotionally attached to her now and she didn't want him thinking she was trying to leave him.

"But the doctor said I need to protect you…" he started with a pained expression.

"I know, Luke, but I need to go in there.  _Please_ ," she practically begged. Her mind was far too muddled to come up with a viable excuse.

"I'm coming with you," he declared, standing his ground.

"Okay, let's go then," she agreed, slightly frustrated. If he tried to prevent her from using the phone she would be stuck with another foe.

J.J pushed opened the creaky, wooden door with a metal screen open slowly, but forgot about the bell affixed to the top. She cringed at the melodic ring and stopped for a moment to make sure the coast was clear.

The shop was dark and also as putrid as she remembered. A patch of moonlight filtering in through the door was the only illumination. She knew turning on the lights would only expose their location. They would have to make do in the dark.

From what she could see, there was nothing on the counter except for the ancient cash register and a stand with "What the Do in Montana" pamphlets. No, it wouldn't be out in the open, she thought. Reaching out, she found the break in the counter that flipped up to get to the other side. A hand suddenly grabbed her wrist. J.J gasped, but realized it was Luke.

"Mamma said no one can go back there," Luke said in a borderline robotic monotone.

"It's okay, she won't find out," J.J said calmly, using her Mom voice.

"But- but they always do! And then they'll take you away," he argued in a state of panic.

Tears began to roll down his ruddy face. J.J did not have time for this, but she also needed her only defender to keep it together.

"Luke, I don't know how much long I have. I have to call for help," she lied.

"But I'm going to help," he said quietly.

"Yes, you've already helped me so much," J.J said, putting a hand on his enormous forearm.

Luke merely nodded, but he seemed to relax. J.J took that as her cue to keep going.

The awful smell seemed to grow worse as she went toward the kitchen, hidden behind a pair of rusted, metal swinging doors. She cautiously pushed them open and plunged into total darkness. Although she couldn't see, J.J heard the sound of rats scurrying around and the stench of what she now recognized as death. She didn't have a choice now; she needed to turn on the light. The agent felt along the wall beside her for a light switch, but to no avail. However, she felt it on the other side.

The fluorescent shock of the light made her wince as the lights filled the room. Her heart stopped as her eyes located the cause of the smell. Three majorly decomposed bodies were strewn out on the dirty tile floor.

They were right behind the wall when they first pulled in, she thought. How did they not recognize the smell? The heat was distracting, sure, but now it seemed so clear. It was like they walked right into it.

She looked behind her and saw Luke with his head down in mourning. At least they were able to save one soul on this excursion. Although he was an accessory, Luke didn't belong in prison. He needed help. She hoped a judge would see that.

Luke broke the silence.

"It's over there," he announced suddenly, pointing towards a meat crank.

Beside it, however, was an old phone. J.J felt the adrenaline return to her system and practically ran toward the tan, rotary design landline. Hands shaking, she dialed.

**\---**

Nothing about this was okay. Her hands were shaking and her stomach was in knots. Garcia was used to having information at the palm of her hand, but right now all she could do was wait for some sign of life from her teammate's cell phones.

Morgan comforted her the best he could earlier, but she could still hear that tone of realism and doubt he often exposed in these situations. She couldn't blame him. The entire team seemed to trigger Murphy's Law more often than not – especially her friends who were missing.

Will called her last night after not being able to get in contact with J.J. She'd been a little more optimistic at that point. They had only been missing for a few hours. She promised to keep him updated and it broke her heart that they still didn't have anything to go on. Yes, they discovered there were an alarming number of disappearances in the area, but that didn't lead to a location. Now it was a waiting game.

She jumped as her system notified her of an incoming call. Since it was a landline, the location popped up on the screen: Montana. But why would Morgan or Hotch being using a landline… or?

"This is Garcia," she said nervously, accepting the call.

"Oh my god, Garcia, it's J.J," J.J said, giving an audible sigh of relief.

"Jayge, what happened to you guys? Are you okay? Is everyone else okay?" Garcia said, speeding through her words in exasperation.

There was a brief moment of silence. Garcia broke it.

"Jayge? What? What happened?" she said teary-eyed.

"A… a-lot. We were out of gas and we got stuck in this town. Ismay, it's called Ismay. And we went to this house to use there phone, but they drugged us… and things got really bad Pen. Reid helped me escape and… I don't know if they're okay," J.J said, gradually breaking down into tears.

Penelope didn't know what to say. Had she heard J.J right? They'd basically been held captive in the middle of nowhere and here she was sitting in her little cubicle, she thought. Now she was going to do something, something to help.

"J.J just stay where you are. I can send your direct location to Hotch and the team and they'll get to you in no time," Garcia stated, regaining the strength of her voice.

"Okay, I can do tha…" she said before silencing.

"Jayge?"

"Luke…" Garcia heard J.J's voice say faintly.

"J.J, what's going on?" Garcia asked in desperation.

The line went dead.

\---

Everything hurt. Although Reid was in a daze from the sheer disbelief of their escape, he could still feel the results of his captors' brutality. It was as though the inside of his anal cavity had been ripped to shreds. He knew that wasn't physically possible, but there was still enough damage to merit the anguish he felt – physically, but especially mentally.

He and Emily were both uneasy on their feet as they made their way down the damp, dismal passageway for what they hoped to be the last time. The lights were extremely dim and they each leaned onto the concrete walls for support and guidance. In their hands were weapons they grabbed off the wall of torture devices. Emily had a rifle draped across her should while Reid held a revolver similar to his own gun that was back in the SUV.

Although armed, the horror they felt was still very palpable. Reid couldn't help but glance behind him every few seconds, fearing he might see the mad faces of the demented brothers. He was shaking from both the trauma and his cold, naked state.

"Reid," Emily whispered, a few feet in front of him. "I think we're almost there."

He didn't answer, but noticed that they were getting closer to a dim beam of light streaming in from the door at the top of the rickety, wooden staircase he was carried down almost a day ago. It scared him. He knew what was locked away in the cage in the basement, but upstairs was a mystery. What if Angie returned? What if there was yet another inbred relative waiting for them that they had yet to meet? However, the slight chance that his team would arrive to rescue them kept him going.

Reid's heartbeat sped up as they approached the staircase. They were so close. He remembered seeing a lock mechanism when he was first brought down, but thankfully they had the entire ring of keys. One of them had to open the door.

"Ready?" he asked weakly.

"Absolutely," she sighed, still bracing herself on the wall for support.

The stairs seemed to go on forever. The light drifting out from the door crack exposed the same scratch marks that he saw when he was first dragged down into the basement. Looking at them more closely, there seemed to be multiple sets. Knowing the family's pathology, he knew there had to be a long list of victims.

Finally at the top, Reid went to open the door.

"Wait!" Emily cried, making him jump.

"What?" he asked, trying to keep himself from falling down in fright.

"The old woman… she must still be up there," Emily started.

She was right. In all their efforts to escape he overlooked the fact that there was still an unsub loose in the house. Although she didn't look outwardly dangerous, he knew they couldn't take any chances.

"I – I guess we can bring her down here," he suggested. "Look her up with the rest of them."

"Okay," Emily agreed with wide eyes, still trying to process everything that happened in the last two days. "I have your back."

Holding his gun out with one hand, Reid twisted the knob and opened the door with the other. The light from the kitchen was on, fluorescent and harsh. Taking a step in and checking the corners, he saw it was clear. He took another step, peering into the hall and the living area while Emily took another step up, aiming the space he had his back to. The table lamps in the sitting room were dim, one covered by a red scarf creating a hellish glow. Reid turned his head slightly and nodded for Emily to follow him up.

It would be a strange sight to see, he thought - two completely nude agents clearing a house. But at the moment he would exchange their safety for pride in a heartbeat.

They two continued to check the downstairs. When they reached the dining room, Reid saw that dinner still covered the table. A shot of guilt ran through him then, reminding him of his naivety.

"We should see if they have a phone," Emily said, her eyes still darting to potential entryways to the room. "They were probably lying when they said they didn't."

Reid nodded. There was so much they needed to do and they had so little time. They had no idea where Luke actually took J.J and even less clue where Angie was stalking.

Before he could suggest finding clothes to cover up with, there was the faint sound of something rolling. The agents immediately pointed their weapons in the direction it came from. It wasn't a person, but a can – a can leaking gas into the air.

Reid grabbed Emily by the arm and headed for the front door. Someone was trying to gas them. Whether it was poisonous or just a disorienting agent, he did not know. They needed to make a run for it either way.

Another one was tossed into the main hallway as they bounded for the door, causing the entire floor to fill up with the noxious substance. Reid felt Emily go limp and fall out of his grip. It would only be a matter of time before he drifted off. He fired into the cloudy air in vein, feeling his eyes become heavy. He wanted to scream, but he was out before it was possible.

 


	10. Chapter 10

J.J dropped the cell phone as she jumped in fright at the sight of Angie's terrible grin beaming at her from across the room. Her auburn hair was a wild nest and her makeup was melting off her face. The agent had looked into the eyes of many unsubs in her career, but she had yet to see one so tragically beautiful. Where there could be kindness and laughter, there was a black hole in her soul. She almost looked like one of the zombies she'd seen Henry try to watch on T.V before she shooed him off to bed. She didn't look human.

"Well look what we have here…" Angie cooed, wielding a machete in her hand. "You've been a bad little agent, haven't you?"

J.J backed away, trying to put as much space as possible between her and the deranged girl in front of her. She looked around as inconspicuously as possible, hoping to see Luke lurking and ready to pounce it her defense. Unfortunately, he was nowhere to be found.

 _Think…,_ she thought to herself, searching her mind for some way to get out of the impending confrontation.

_She's crazy, she's homicidal… but, she still loves her family._

"Angie, listen to me…" J.J started, not completely sure where her words would take her. "My friends at the FBI, they're coming here now."

"Well if they're as intimidating as Dr. Reid, I must mind my manners," she cackled.

"My point is… it's over Angie. If you surrender now they'll go easier on you. That's how these things work," J.J said, trying to feed the stupid girl some angle that might push her toward logic.

"That's what you all say," she spat, holding up the machete menacingly. "I watch enough SVU to know that."

"And if it's between defending my family or handing myself over to you assholes for a lifetime of orange jumpsuits," she continued, stepping closer and closer to J.J. "I'll take the first one."

And then she swung.

Blessed with good reflexes, J.J dodged Angie's blow and streamlined toward the exit.

"Luke!" she screamed in desperation. "Luke! Where are you?"

The front of the store was dark, but a glimpse of moonlight filtered through the door crack leading her to the street.

The town, which had been evidently barren before, had reached a new level of desolate as she staggered into the street eying some form of human life besides the murderous girl on her trail.

"Run run run as fast as you can!" Angie sing-songed behind her, making her presence known further by scratching the machete across the restaurant's store-front window.

Although she had once been a speedy soccer forward, no one would be able to tell from her crippled pace. Breathing heavily, she leaned against the stoop of an empty florist four doors down from the restaurant. There was still not a soul to be found.

Peeking out from her hiding place, she realized she had lost sight on Angie.

 _Shit._   _ **Shit. Shit. Shit.**_

Before she could make her next move Angie was on her. Spinning out into the street, the tip of the machete pricked J.J's forearm.

She automatically grabbed her arm in pain, the flesh stinging and wet with blood beneath her pale hand.

This was it. This was how she was going to die.

Until it wasn't.

Luke, eyes wide as saucers, descended on his sister. Weighing in over 100 pounds more than the petite red head, he nearly crushed her, wrestling the long blade out of her hand.

Angie let out mangled screams J.J could only compare to a cat in heat. She was not giving up easily; not even after her right arm snapped under his grip.

"Angie, no," Luke grunted, seemingly trying to talk sense into her.

Finally she went limp, but J.J. didn't trust it. Luke did, however, and turned toward J.J. His mouth went to form words of consolation, but they never left his lips. Angie had already darted for her weapon, which soon found itself plunged into her brother's back.

J.J screamed, a guttural scream that wrecked her already raw throat. Tears ran down her face as she watched her savior falter for a moment before turning around and throttling his sister by the neck until there was no life left in her eyes. And then he fell too.

J.J mustered the last bit of energy and limped over to where Luke had fallen. He was shivering. A drizzle of red slipped out the corner of his mouth, which was fixed with a grimace of quickly diminishing strength.

She grabbed his hand, clammy and limp in her own.

"Luke… I'm so sorry," she rasped.

He struggled with a few shakes of his head, obviously disagreeing.

"I p-promised him," he stumbled. "I saved you, J.J."

"You did," she smiled as tears streamed down, grabbing his hand tighter. "You really did, Luke."

"You're my hero."

At that, the young man's eyes lit up. It was the first sign of joy J.J had seen since they had landed in Montana all those days ago.

"Hero…" he muttered, still holding onto his grin.

It took eight minutes for him to fade. When he did, she could not find the strength to let go. Instead, she lay beside him… unfazed by whatever else was out in the darkness waiting.

\---

It was too quiet.

For all the times Reid has awoken from a state of unconscious in the past hours there had at least been some indication of where he was – Angie's cocoon of campy music, the cage with Emily shaking him back to life and the dripping, moist depths of the cellar where Davey had left him for dead.

Maybe he was dead, he thought; Dead and somehow hanging on to awareness.

However, the sound of soil spilling onto wood shattered that notion. And strangely enough the sound was coming from above. Gazing up in pitch black he could not see where it was coming from or why. But with hands no longer cuffed he was able to reach above. His fingertips grazed what appeared to be rough, unsanded wood. It wasn't just above him either… it was all around.

Finally it made sense: he was in a makeshift coffin.

And the dirt…

_They were burying him alive._

Releasing all notion of calm, the young doctor flailed out in an uncontrollable wave of panic. This specific nightmare had plagued him ever since he was rescued from the graveyard on Marshall Parrish, where Charles Hankel promised to bury him alive.

Now it was actually happening.

His mind raced for some solution, but it was hopeless. This underground prison was impenetrable without outside help.

Suddenly he felt movement. However, it was coming from beneath him. Based on the faint impact he surmised someone else was trapped as well. It could only be Emily – possibly kicking from below.

Ever since the Tobias Hankel affair the fear of being buried alive lingered in his mind. Every so often, before he closed his eyes to go to sleep at night, he would be transported back to that scene, thanking whatever had prevented him from meeting such a grim end. Yet, here he was again.

All he could do was wait – wait for some miraculous rescue or wait to die.

Adrenaline ran through Morgan's veins as he drove the SUV through the barren road leading to Ismay. An ambulance followed close behind, silent so it would not alert the unsubs of their arrival. Even a copter flew overhead to transport the agents if their circumstances were dire. They weren't going to take any chances.

Rossi remained silent in the passenger seat. There wasn't much to say. Their agents – their friends – were out there and time was running out.

Almost a half hour passed before they reached the same sign Reid, Prentiss and J.J had met more than 24 hours before. According to Garcia, J.J's call had come from the center of town. It only took another few miles to reach the location. Illuminated in the headlights, Morgan could make out three figures. Two appeared to be down, with one kneeling over one of the bodies.

 _Oh God_ , he thought to himself.  _We're too late._

Parking the SUV in the middle of the rode, Morgan grabbed his glock and carefully approached the scene before him. It was J.J for sure, even though she was barefoot, wearing a child-like dress. He was able to release a sigh of relief when he realized the body was not Reid or Prentiss, but a man in his 20's. The other body was also someone else.

"J.J..." Rossi started, as he approached behind Morgan with Hotch joining them after parking his own vehicle.

She looked up at them – her blue eyes larger than ever and filled with tears.

"He… he tried to save me," she said quietly in a daze.

"J.J, where are Prentiss and Reid?" Hotch demanded. They could comfort her later. Now they needed to find the other agents.

"T-the house. T-they were in the house… on the h-hill," she stammered. "Unsubs… they hurt them."

The three agents looked at each other. This terrain was new to them. They would have to get their traumatized friend to lead them there.

"J.J, you gotta take us there," Morgan said, kneeling next to her.

Her eyes filled with fright, but she nodded in agreeance. Morgan helped her up into the SUV.

"Just follow us there with the ambulance and the back-up team. And get word to the helicopter," he said to Hotch once J.J was secured in the vehicle. He nodded and followed Rossi to their own SUV.

It took a deal of navigating, but J.J eventually led them to the location that had served as the three agents personal hell for the last day or so. The house on the hill looked menacing as they approached – especially since it contained horrors unknown.

"Stay here, it'll be okay," Morgan said, giving her hand a light squeeze. "We're gonna get you all home."

J.J still looked frightened, but she nodded and closed her eyes – seemingly retreating into her mind.

Morgan reconvened with Hotch and Rossi along with the officers from Miles City.

"From what I could get out of her it sounds like there are at least three unsubs in there. They're armed and have two of our agents hostage," Morgan told the group.

"Let's move, we don't know how much time they have," Hotch confirmed.

Morgan and Hotch took the back route while Rossi and the rest of the unit entered through the front.

Morgan could hear the shout of "clear" as they crept along the side of the house. As they approached the backyard the sound of a shovel hitting ground could be heard. Two unsubs appeared to be covering something up. Another round of dread hit Morgan at full force as he couldn't help but wonder if they were burying the bodies of their friends. Hotch gave him a look that suggested he was having similar thoughts.

"FREEZE!" Hotch yelled, "Drop your weapon and get on the ground, now!"

The larger of the two men froze and dropped his weapon as he was told while the second made chase. Morgan darted after him in pursuit.

"Rossi, come in," Hotch spoke into his communication unit. "We have one unsub back here on the ground and Morgan is going after another one on the run."

"Copy," Rossi said. "We found an elderly woman. She was armed, but she's being taken into custody now… Hotch, this place… you have to see this."

"You have to see this," Hotch responded, looking out into the field of hundreds of cars.

He regained his composure and apprehended the man before him.

"Where are they?" he growled as he handcuffed him from behind.

The man laughed callously.

Hotch tightened the cuffs in response.

"WHERE ARE THEY?"

"In hell," the man said maniacally, nodding toward the ground.

Hotch froze. They were buried in the ground.

"Rossi, get the unit out here now. Reid and Prentiss are buried out here. They might still be alive."

Once back up arrived, Hotch grabbed the shovel and started digging as fast as humanly possible. He was not about to lose his agents and friends to these inbred diseases.

Morgan returned with the second unsub in custody just as the team started to reach the pine box five feet under the ground. He jumped into the hole and started removing dirt with his bare hands.

"Reid, Prentiss, you're safe. We're here," Morgan yelled.

Careful not to hit whoever was inside, Hotch cracked open the box from the side to reveal Reid inside, hanging onto consciousness.

"Oh my God," Morgan released. He could make out the carvings on his chest and the rest of the bruising and cuts on his body. He was wincing, half stunned by the appearance of his friends.

"Reid, we got you," Morgan said calmly, pulling him up.

"We need the medic!" he yelled. The ambulance crew quickly made its way over and covered Reid with a blanket before putting him inside and hooking him up to fluids.

After removing Reid's box, they moved onto Prentiss. After cracking hers open she nearly burst out and grabbed onto the nearest person – Hotch. He held her unclothed form tightly as she began to sob.

"I need to call Garcia…." Morgan muttered to Rossi as they watched the scene.

Prentiss, it appeared, was in far worse condition than Reid and was placed in the helicopter, which had landed on the front lawn of the estate. Hotch went with her, tightly holding her hand in support.

"Thank you," she rasped, before losing consciousness.


	11. Chapter 11

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

The noise kept repeating over and over. Reid couldn't figure out what it could be. A watch? Maybe one of the unsubs had a watch with a heart rate monitor. Heart rate? Yeah, that sounded right. Could it be his? But that would mean…

He was in a hospital. It was confirmed when he pried his eyes open.  _Ow._  The fluorescent lights were intense. He started to notice other sounds now. The murmur of voices coming from a hallway, a newscaster's voice from a television and snoring. The last one through him off. But who?

Ah, that explained it. Morgan was slumped in a chair beside him fast asleep. The light coming from the window told him it had to be around 6 a.m. As much as he wanted to fall back into the darkness he focused on keeping his eyes open.

Looking up, there was a television set with the early morning news on. It was a local Montana station. Suddenly, footage appeared on the screen that he readily recognized. It was  _the_  house. What looked like 50 officers and countless reporters were there documenting what the news banner was calling the "worst serial killings in Montana history." If he wasn't hooked up to so many wires he would have jumped out of bed for joy. Those bastards were in custody. And if anyone deserved the death penalty – which existed, albeit flawed, in Montana – it was them.

His energy was slowly starting to creep back up, but when he tried to call out to Morgan no sound came out. God, his mouth was dry. He tried again. A strangled sound came out that vaguely resembled Morgan's name, but it wasn't enough to wake him. Plan B.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP

Morgan's eyes shot open. He frantically looked at Reid's heart rate monitor and then at his friend.

"Dammit Reid, you scared me," he gasped with exasperation, rubbing his eyes to reach complete consciousness.

"Sorry," Reid rasped. "I-I need water."

"Shit, yeah. You've been out for almost 24 hours, makes sense," Morgan told him groggily as he went over to a dresser where a pitcher and a cup sat on top.

"Here you go," he said, handing him the cup.

Reid couldn't remember water tasting so good. They were hydrating him through an IV, but that didn't do much for dry mouth.

"Thank you," he said, after inhaling the entire cup.

"No problem, kid," Morgan responded with a smile, "Just glad to see you awake."

"What about Emily? And J.J? Are they…?" he asked with desperation in his voice. Why hadn't he thought of them sooner. It was as if his mind was in slow motion.

"They're alive," Morgan answered more solemnly than Reid would have expected. "J.J is doing great actually. Her ribs were broken and she's shaken up, but nothing permanent."

"And Emily?"

Reid didn't like the look on Morgan's face.

"What? What's wrong?"

"I told you, she's alive," he sighed. "But she's in bad shape. Those freaks did something to here… used some device on her, uh, lady parts. They took her into surgery right away but they had to remove her ovaries. There was too much scarring."

His words were like a punch in the gut. This was all his fault. If he hadn't gotten them into this… and now… now she would never be able to have kids. They had never had a conversation about whether she wanted to or not, but he supposed everyone would like to have the option.

God, how would he ever be able to look at either of them in the face again. He knew they would tell him not to blame himself, but he had let his guard down around that  _bitch_  Angie.

"Morgan, how much do you know?" Reid asked. If Emily was still fresh out of surgery she couldn't have told them much. Meanwhile, J.J had been separated from them for most of the nightmare in that house.

"Just what J.J could tell us. You guys were lost and running out of gas… you stopped at that house for help and it turned out to be a horror show," Morgan recollected.

Reid nodded. So he probably didn't know about the… _rape_. God, it was such an ugly word. But it was an ugly thing so it made sense. Reid could still feel their hands on him. Oh God…

"Reid, you okay? Your heart rate…" Morgan said, nodding to the monitor.

Reid exhaled slowly and watched it go back down. He needed to stay calm if he was going to maintain some dignity. He had to tell Emily to keep what happened between them and them alone. The team would never look at him the same way if they knew what he did.

"What about the family? Are they all alive?" he asked. With the exception of Luke, he would feel safer if every one of them were dead.

"They're all in custody, except the young guy, Luke. J.J said his sister stabbed him because he saved her. The sister was almost gone, actually. I guess he tried to strangle her before he died."

Reid clenched his fists. Luke was essentially innocent and now he was dead. Why should Angie get to live over him?

"It's not right," Reid muttered.

"None of this is… they found like 100 cars behind that house," Morgan explained. "It's going to take awhile, but they've been recovering belongings from missing people from all over the country. It seems like they've been luring people there for decades."

Reid wasn't surprised. He remembered all those tools in the basement and the stains on the mattress. So many people had suffered and died there.

"Some of the belongings included a polaroid of an elderly couple and a baby... someone wrote 'Luke's First Road Trip' on the bottom," Morgan said, pained by the information he was relaying. "We're going through Missing Persons now, but it looks like those psychos may have kidnapped Luke."

Reid's stomach dropped. He knew there was something different about him. Growing up in that home would explain the developmental difficulties he exhibited. 

"And now he's dead..."

"Reid, _listen to me_. If it wasn't for you guys they would have kept going for who knows how long," Morgan said. "It's rough, but it's the truth."

Reid nodded. He knew what Morgan meant, but it didn't make it any easier to digest.

"But how could the local police not have suspected anything?" Reid asked. "Those are a lot of missing people."

"County lines, politics, any number of reasons. Why don't we know about half the sickos that are out there right now? They're good… too good," Morgan said.

Morgan made a good point. There were so many of them out there still. Sure, they could catch a handful every year, but some people were never going to stop or be found. So what was the point?

"Reid?" Morgan asked after almost a minute of silence.

"Yeah, sorry, I'm just…"

"No, yeah, you're out of it. I get it. I just want to make sure you're okay," Morgan said. "We love you, kid. You're going to be alright."

He highly doubted that, but he nodded all the same.


	12. Chapter 12

**Less than a month later…**

His apartment had changed. While the couch and chair had once faced away from the simple wooden door they now confronted the entryway directly. And that wooden door, which had at one time only possessed a simple lock on the knob and a chain lock above, was now firmly secured shut and locked by a massive slab of metal.

It was also messy. Before, the room could be considered untidy at times if he left books and documents astray while researching, but this way a different kind of mess. The kitchen sink was neglected, with dirty coffee mugs piled haphazardly in the chrome basin. Plates, coated in the grime of instant meals, were stacked on the scummy counter. Meanwhile, a thick layer of dust coated almost every surface – left behind while the owner of the forlorn living space had been away.

And in the heart of it all sat Spencer Reid. He gripped one of the last clean coffee mugs in his right hand and his revolver in his left. The grandfather clock that stood behind his large bookcase read 3:17 a.m. It had been almost a day since he slept. But even so he had only gotten three hours of rest at the most. His mind would not let him lose consciousness. It was on the defense from unknown peril that he could only assume waited outside his door.

There were four notifications for missed calls on his phone – one of them only popped up 45 minutes ago. That one was Emily. The others were from Morgan, Hotch and Garcia. He knew he should have answered them, but he couldn't bear to let them hear how weak he likely sounded.

When he, Emily and JJ were discharged from the hospital in Montana the future seemed bright. They had survived and were ready to move on with their lives. But that changed once the flashes began. They were swift and unexpected. The first one happened while he was standing in his usual coffee shop, just an hour before he was expected at the BAU for his physical and psych evaluation to begin work again. It was the plaid shirt the barista was wearing underneath his apron. It was so close to the print one of them wore – Davey or Jim, he couldn't remember which. And in a flash he was back in the basement. He felt phantom hands all over his body and the sensation of being strangled. A woman behind him put a hand on his shoulder and asked him if he was okay. Still in a haze, he pushed her to the ground. When he finally came to he was surrounded by hoard of customers looking at him in horror. A manager approached – "You need to leave or we're calling the cops." So he left and took the metro back home. On the train he texted Hotch – "I need another day. I'm sorry."

That was two weeks ago. He had spoken to members of the team here and there, but he usually cut the conversation short by confessing he was tired. And he was. The only thing keeping him going was the caffeine was streamlining, but it only did so much. He needed something stronger, but he wouldn't let himself fall that far again. Not even if it meant escaping the flashes of the hell he and his teammates had endured.

\---

**Emily**

She pressed the home button on her phone again. Still nothing. No texts, no attempts to call her back, nothing. She was worried. Morgan, Hotch and Garcia had all tried calling him throughout the day, but he hadn't called any of them back. Reid's welfare had been a constant conversation over the past week. At first they just wanted to give him time to breathe and refocus. They knew his coping skills weren't the greatest. Although Emily had passed her evaluations with flying colors, it was mostly because she had mastered the skill of compartmentalizing. There was something in her DNA that caused her to refuse to let others see her pain. And it was certainly there. However, she only let it slip out in moments of privacy.

J.J hadn't returned either, but that was because she wanted to devote at least a month to her family. Fortunately Henry was at an age where he wasn't able to comprehend what had went on, but Will was a different story. He almost lost her and he was afraid to let her out of his sight. So he was also taking a month of leave. However, she was still in constant contact with the team and had made numerous attempts to see Reid. But there was always an excuse.

This time was different. He should have checked in with at least one of them. Enough was enough. She slipped a pair of jeans and t-shirt on, grabbed her bag and headed out the door of her apartment. She first arrived at J.J's doorstep. She had texted her on the way there – "Reid isn't responding. We need to meet now." J.J agreed.

J.J quietly opened the front door and greeted Emily with a hug. The events in Montana had actually brought them closer. They had been best friends before, but now there was almost a sisterly bond between them. She supposed that made Reid their lost little brother.

"Let's go," Emily said, almost in a whisper.

It was another 30 minutes before they reached Reid's complex. They quietly made their way up the stairs of his building and found themselves in front of his door. Last time she was there, Emily had noticed the microscopic spy camera affixed to the door. It only worried her slightly less than the massive lock he had installed on the other side.

"I'll call him again first," she whispered to J.J., not wanting to disturb Reid's neighbors.

So she did, but again the call went unanswered. She texted him as well – "J.J and I are outside your door."

Nothing stirred.

"That's it…" she huffed.

BAM BAM BAM.

"Reid. Open the door… now," Emily demanded, trying to maintain her composure.

Oh God, she thought, what if he had hurt himself and they were too late.

Those thoughts were calmed when she heard movement. She let out a breath of relief. But a minute passed and he still hadn't opened the door.

"Reid, we're going to have to call someone if you don't let us in," J.J tried. Who that "someone" was she wasn't quite sure of yet – Hotch? The police?

It worked. They heard the sound of the locks being undone and finally the largest one was slid open. The door opened slowly, and only with just enough room for the two women to slide inside.

They looked around and felt an immediate sense of sadness. The place was a wreck and so was their friend.

"Don't look at me like that," Reid said, wrapping his arms around himself protectively and retreating back to the far end of the living room.

J.J couldn't help but notice how much the unkempt apartment personified their friend. His hair, though still shorter than it had been in recent years, looked unwashed. His skin was pale and dark circles coated the bottom of his eyes. But it was the look in his eyes that really made her understood how much he was struggling. They were doe-like and filled with fear of a predator.

"I'm sorry, Reid. It's just… you're obviously not coping," Emily said. J.J could tell she was trying not to sound overtly blunt, but at the same time she had to remain honest.

Reid let out a dry laugh that could have easily morphed into a sob.

"Coping… right. Well, it's never been my strong suit has it?" he asked, looking to Emily and then to J.J. His eyes now reflected agitation.

"Spence, we get it. We're right here with you. What happened… what we all went through. No one expects us to just bounce back right away," J.J tried.

God, she couldn't stand to see him like this. It was true that they had all suffered, but Reid's past made it all the more precarious. There was only so much a person could take until… well, she didn't know what, but she knew it wasn't good.

"Really… you guys look like you're doing just fine," he said cuttingly.

J.J knew what he was doing. He had tried it many times before. He was trying to get them to leave in anger. He was a phenomenal profiler, but so were they.

"Reid, please… you know everyone deals with these things differently," J.J said, walking toward him. He turned away again.

"If you think that we just got over what happened in a month than you're not the profiler I thought you were," Emily said, matching Reid's tone, as she walked to the other side of him to look him square in the eye.

"I saw what they did to you," she started, her voice beginning to crack and her eyes beginning to water. "And you saw what they did to us. It was  _inhuman_. Those bastards are the epitome of the scum we've put behind bars. But Reid, we can't let them win. We got out. We're alive and they're going to rot in jail for the rest of their lives. You can't let them take anything else from you."

J.J felt a warm stream of tears run down her face. Emily was right, but she couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt for escaping most of the abuse they suffered. Sure, her escape enabled them to get rescued, but she couldn't ignore the guilt she felt knowing what had happened in her absence. Emily had told her everything those monsters did to her. How they scarred her insides – so much so that the doctors told her she would never be able to have children. To preserve his privacy she did not speak much about what they did to Reid specifically, but it was clear they had abused him on every level – physically, mentally and sexually.

Reid remained silent, but his face gave away his emotions. Their words were reaching him.

"We need you back. And we don't care how long it takes. But you have to try," Emily continued, easing into an embrace with her friend.

At her touch he seemed to break – going limp like a marionette with cut strings. His face was buried in her shoulder and he was sobbing heavily. She gripped him close.

"I'm so sorry," he cried. He repeated himself over and over.

"It's okay, it's okay," Emily told him gently.

Finally, Emily was able to get him to regulate his breathing. She sat him down on the couch, but gripped his hand in continued support. J.J sat next to them and put her hand on Reid's shoulder.

"I just can't stop seeing it… them… that place," he said, now calm. "It keeps coming on in flashes. I'll see something – a shirt, a shadow… and I'm back there."

Emily and J.J glanced at one another knowingly. They too had experienced the symptoms of PTSD over the last few weeks. But Emily had confided in Morgan and J.J had Will. Reid had kept it bottled up and it was obviously killing him.

"We understand, Spence. Better than anyone could," said J.J. "I have to have Will lock up at night and double check every entrance."

"Morgan stayed with me the first week I got out of the hospital," Emily admitted. "I kept having these night terrors. I was back in the ground… it was terrible. But I talked to him and the psychologist they assigned me and it's gotten better. It will get better."

Reid nodded, taking in their words, and wiped away his tears.

"I just… I keep replaying it and it just feels like I could have done something differently," he said.

J.J and Emily quickly exchanged a glance. They knew he blamed himself.

"None of this was your fault. We were all there. We all missed the signs," Emily said, gripping his hand tighter now.

"Reid, we probably wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for you," J.J said, tears still flowing. "You got me out of there... you got me back to Henry."

Reid nodded through his tears, trying to take in what they were saying – the truth.

His two friends embraced him from both sides. And for the first time in a long time he did not flinch at their touch. He was ready to heal.


End file.
